SCRANTON, PA — A significant blow has been dealt to drug trafficking in Pennsylvania as Jose Torres, 28, hailing from El Paso, Texas, has been sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. The sentence was handed down on March 12, 2024, by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani. Torres was found guilty of possessing more than five kilograms of cocaine with the intention to distribute.
United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam revealed that Torres had previously pleaded guilty and admitted to possessing a substantial amount of cocaine, estimated between 15 and 50 kilograms. His intentions were to distribute this considerable haul in the Lackawanna County area in September 2022.
Torres, alongside another man, Luis Gonzalez, also 28 and from El Paso, were indicted by a grand jury in Scranton for cocaine trafficking in October 2022. The indictment stems from an incident on September 29, 2022, when the Pennsylvania State Police pulled over their vehicle in Lackawanna County. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the seizure of sixteen individually wrapped packages of cocaine, estimated to have a street value of approximately $500,000.
Luis Gonzalez, Torres’ co-defendant, was previously sentenced by Judge Mariani to serve a ten-year term.
The successful investigation and prosecution of this case were carried out by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Scranton Police Department, with Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara leading the prosecution.
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