California Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine and Fentanyl

PITTSBURGH, PA - A former resident of Los Angeles, California, has been sentenced in federal court to 72 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release on his conviction of conspiring to distribute narcotics, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Gabriel A. Garcia, age 27, following his August 16, 2022, guilty plea.

According to information presented to the court, on May 26, 2021, a Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) trooper initiated a traffic stop on a 2002 Infinity N35 which had violated the vehicle code, and which had bicycles mounted on its rear, obscuring the license plate. Garcia was the driver of the vehicle, and his co-defendant was the passenger of the vehicle. The PSP Trooper recognized the vehicle, bicycles, and the passenger from an April 2021 traffic stop and, further, determined that the vehicle made three coast-to-coast trips during a five-month period. The passenger, who the vehicle was registered to, consented to a search of the vehicle, which revealed approximately 21 kilograms of cocaine and eight kilograms of fentanyl.

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the traffic stop leading to the seizure of the controlled substances and special agents with Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the conviction in this case.