GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Four men suspected of selling large amounts of cocaine in Grand Rapids have been sentenced to federal prison.
The group distributed kilograms of cocaine, federal prosecutors say.
Sergio Sosa Campos, identified in court records as one of the leaders, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
David Gonzalez was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison. Treylon "Digi" Urquhart was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Francisco Javier Gutierrez was sentenced to 10 years.
They will spent at least five years on supervised release once their prison sentences end, records showed.
Federal authorities say Juan Carlos Hernandez, while free on bond, cut a GPS tether nearly a year ago, and has not been found. Another suspect, Alfredo Corona-Vazquez has not been arrested.
A seventh suspect named in the indictment was acquitted at trial.
The government said that Campos “has been distributing large amounts of cocaine in the Grand Rapids area for at least five years,” ending in late 2010. Campos and Hernandez obtained cocaine from sources in Indiana and elsewhere then used the others to make hand-to-hand deals.
Campos and his associates used a 2001 Ford Focus with “an elaborately concealed compartment to move large quantities of cocaine around Grand Rapids and avoid detection by law enforcement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler wrote in court documents.
In December 2010, undercover police bought a “large amount of cocaine from Campos and Hernandez,” which led to the arrests, the prosecutor wrote in court records.
The government said that Campos sold “well over five kilograms of cocaine.”
His attorney, Jason Ronning, said Campos is a U.S. citizen whose only previous brush with the law was an impaired driving charge a decade ago.
“His life here in West Michigan was remarkable only in that it was a stable situation with plenty of love and support from his family. He attended school until he was 18, and then he began to work, and has worked his entire adult life.”
He said his client did not reap huge financial benefits. He was arrested after suppliers “fronted” him cocaine.
“While Mr. Campos was a ‘leader’ in a local sense, he was still a middle to low level player in the larger dealing picture, and his cooperation with the government is certainly not looked upon with favor by those people.”
