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A pair of Kissimmee men have been sentenced to federal prison terms by the U.S. Middle District Court for their roles in distributing drugs.
A pair of Kissimmee men have been sentenced to federal prison terms by the U.S. Middle District Court for their roles in distributing drugs, as announced by the court Monday.
U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Nathaniel Quiles, 37, to 9 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Quiles had pleaded guilty to the federal charges on June 17.
According to court documents, in 2017, deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office found Quiles in possession of 14 or more grams of heroin. The State of Florida charged Quiles with trafficking in heroin and the State Court placed him on house arrest pending trial. In 2018, a State Court jury convicted Quiles of the State trafficking offense and that Court sentenced him to a 15-year prison term, which he already was serving.
The FBI was also aware Quiles was responsible for distributing large quantities of heroin in the area. While Quiles’ case was pending trial in State court, the FBI learned that he was owed payment for a previous delivery of 500 grams of heroin. Investigators used a confidential source to pay Quiles for the outstanding drug debt and to purchase an additional 100 grams of heroin. Quiles, who remained in his home during these transactions, used co-conspirators in the Orlando and Tampa areas to distribute the heroin and collect payments.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Also Monday, U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced Eddie “Macho” Martinez-Marquez, 33, to 10 years and 1 month in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. As part of his sentence, the court also entered a money judgment of $500,000, the proceeds of the multi-kilo drug conspiracy. Martinez-Marquez had pleaded guilty on June 3.
According to court documents, between December 2016 and August 2018, Martinez-Marquez led an organization that supplied cocaine to a co-conspirator in Jacksonville. The amounts varied, but Martinez-Marquez typically would supply one or two kilograms, twice per month, which the co-conspirator would then sell. As part of his plea agreement, Martinez-Marquez admitted that he had supplied at least 15 kilograms of cocaine. He charged $27,000 per kilogram, and at times, “fronted” the drugs to his co-conspirator, essentially supplying the drugs on credit.
