-
PHOTO/METRO
A Kissimmee man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he made a drug deal with people he didn't know were federal agents.
U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza sentenced both Jacob Luis Bonilla-Rivera, 27, of Kissimmee, and Juan Omar Rodriguez, Jr., 21, of Auburndale, to 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of that conspiracy.
The court also ordered Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez to forfeit $639,325, two firearms and a vehicle used in the crimes. Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez had pleaded guilty in December 2020.
According to court documents, starting on Sept. 11, 2020, Bonilla-Rivera made a series of phone calls with individuals he believed were cocaine dealers, but were actually undercover agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The phone calls led to an agreement for Bonilla-Rivera to purchase 20 kilograms of cocaine in Orlando.
On Sept. 16, 2020, HSI agents met with Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez, where they showed the agents $600,000 in cash that they had brought to the deal in a hidden compartment in one of their vehicles. After showing the agents the cash, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez proceeded to a location where HSI agents had arranged to show them the cocaine. After inspecting the cocaine, Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez returned to their car to retrieve the cash from the hidden compartment and were arrested. Upon searching both vehicles, HSI agents found that both Bonilla-Rivera and Rodriguez had loaded firearms inside vehicles, along with a total of $639,325.
“This joint investigation into a transnational criminal organization illustrates how important our partnerships are in combating illegal drugs,” said HSI Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David J. Pezzutti. “The sentencing and seizures associated with this case have made our community safer.”
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case, with assistance from Seminole County Sherriff’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill prosecuted it.
