- A Virginia man received over 20 years in prison for trafficking drugs in Utah.
- Cruz Garcia pleaded guilty to possessing meth and cocaine with intent to distribute.
- Two others, Travis Davies and Kevin Sanchez-Carrillo, also were sentenced to prison this month for drug trafficking.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Virginia man was sentenced this week to more than 20 years in prison for trafficking more than 40 pounds of drugs in Utah.
Two other men were also sent to federal prison this month in Utah drug trafficking cases.
Cruz Javier Garcia, 39, of Bland, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court in May to possession of meth with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He is also ordered to serve five years of probation.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper searched Garcia's vehicle after pulling him over for speeding near Green River in September 2023. Inside a suitcase, troopers found a black garbage bag with 40 1-pound bags of methamphetamine, and an additional 3.5 pounds of cocaine in a backpack, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah.
"Drug trafficking is a scourge on communities, and those who seek to profit from it while our communities are left to bear the cost of addiction, violence and death, is unacceptable," said acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. "Garcia's sentence sends a clear message to anyone involved in trafficking drugs in ... Utah: you will be caught, prosecuted and held accountable."
- On Sept. 15, a Uintah County man was sentenced to more than eight years in prison and three years of probation for trafficking hundreds of narcotics. Travis Davies, 47, pleaded guilty in June to possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Police seized almost 300 blue fentanyl pills during a search of Davies' residence in Vernal, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors said Davies is a known distributor of fentanyl and was caught with the pills while on pretrial release for multiple other drug trafficking cases.
- Also in federal court, a man from Mexico was sentenced on Sept. 6 to five years in prison for trafficking drugs. Kevin Enrique Sanchez-Carrillo, 25, was living in Draper when police say a confidential informant purchased methamphetamine from him in March.
Officers subsequently located 1,249 grams of fentanyl, 571 grams of heroin, 11,099 grams of methamphetamine, 15 grams of cocaine, $7,750 in cash and a handgun during a search of his apartment, court documents said.
Federal prosecutors said Sanchez-Carrillo admitted he knowingly possessed and intended to distribute the narcotics for profit. He was ordered to forfeit the cash and will be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation after serving his sentence.
