Press Release
Utica Man Sentenced for Possession of Cocaine for Distribution and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK –Edgar Tejada, age 36, of Utica, New York, was sentenced yesterday to serve 12 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and 60 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Those sentences were ordered to run consecutively, for a total of 72 months (6 years) imprisonment.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division and Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), New York Field Office.
As part of his guilty plea, Tejada admitted to possessing over 500 grams of cocaine for distribution at his residence in Utica, as well as possessing a loaded silver Ruger handgun to protect himself and the drugs he kept at that location.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the New York State Police, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, the Utica Police Department, the Syracuse Police Department, the Rome Police Department, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office, New York Army National Guard Counter Drug Program, the Yorkville Village Police Department, and the Whitesboro Village Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Thomson.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Updated March 8, 2024
Topics
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Offenses
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