News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 6, 2005

Northbridge Man Sentenced on Federal Drug Charges

Worcester, MA... A Northbridge man was sentenced Friday, July 1, 2005, in federal court on federal drug offenses.

June Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan , announced that CARLOS ESTEVEZ, age 37, formerly of 83 Short Street, Northbridge, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV to 5 years and 10 months in prison for conspiring to distribute over 50 grams of cocaine base, and distributing cocaine base on three different occasions. Cocaine base is more commonly known as “crack” cocaine. ESTEVEZ, a native of the Dominican Republic, also faces immediate deportation proceedings following the completion of his sentence.

At an earlier plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that, had the case proceeded to trial, the Government’s evidence would have proven that from September 2003 through February 2004, ESTEVEZ distributed over 50 grams of crack cocaine in Worcester and Northbridge, Massachusetts. During that time period, the DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (”HIDTA”) Task Force made three separate crack cocaine purchases from ESTEVEZ and his girlfriend, Elys Garcia. ESTEVEZ acted alone in the first two deals, negotiating the purchase price and subsequently distributing the crack cocaine in the Chandler Street area of Worcester. ESTEVEZ arranged the third deal by telephone and sent his girlfriend, Garcia to distribute the crack cocaine in Northbridge, Massachusetts. On each occasion, DEA agents were able to witness and record the drug transactions.

ESTEVEZ has been in custody since his arrest on April 14, 2004.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Task Force in Worcester, with the assistance of the Worcester and Northbridge Police Departments. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Casey in Sullivan’s Worcester Office.