A Springfield man is facing serious time after a federal indictment charged him with drug distribution and firearms offences. Pedro Deleon, 32, has been hit with charges for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Details from the indictment revealed that on Oct. 22, 2024, Deleon was allegedly found in possession of drugs and a firearm, with past convictions that included a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, the document specified, he's accused of being caught red-handed with the illegal items on the said date. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and other officials such as Brian Keys, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts and Colonel Geoffrey Nobel of the Massachusetts State Police have expressed their commitment to the case, which is prosecuted by Todd E. Newhouse of the Springfield Branch Office.
The charges are steep with the drug distribution accusation alone carrying a maximum of 20 years in the slammer, and with a potential life sentence lurking in the wings for the firearm charge, sentences are not carved in stone but are ultimately decided by a federal district judge relying on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutes dictating criminal sentences.
