Thursday, March 22, 2007

UPDATED: 7:58 PM
Cocaine driver gets 4-year sentence

By Charlie White
cwhite@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

An undocumented immigrant who drove a load of cocaine from Phoenix to Louisville was sentenced in federal court today to four years and three months.

Pedro Pacheco-Lopez, 19, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute the more than 35 pounds of cocaine last March, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Authorities estimated the value of the cocaine at $1.6 million.

He could be departed after he serves his sentence, attorneys said.

The cocaine, delivered to the 6000 block of Cooper Chapel Road, apparently had been stored in the driveshaft of the truck, which had been removed.

The powder was in a cylindrical brick — the shape of the driveshaft, and drug enforcement agents found cocaine residue in the driveshaft.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... 1/70322048