Thirty-year-old Noe Alegria of Ruskin has been handed a sentence of over 15 years in federal prison. Alegria's sentence, which totals 15 years and one month, comes after his guilty plea on December 3, 2024, for the possession with intent to distribute cocaine, as well as charges pertaining to firearms possession as a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Virginia Covington delivered the sentence, as per a release from the Department of Justice yesterday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office report detailed that on July 13, 2023, Alegria was caught in a sting operation where he sold cocaine to an undercover officer. During the interaction, Alegria had a Glock firearm concealed in his pants pocket. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Alegria sold a separate firearm to the undercover officer inside his residence on the same day and transacted additional firearms sales on subsequent occasions. Law enforcement officers were able to purchase or recover a total of 14 firearms from Alegria over the course of their investigation.
The case against Alegria was built with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Kenneth prosecuted the case. Alegria was legally forbidden from owning firearms or ammunition due to a prior conviction for possessing controlled substances in 2020, which compounded the gravity of his offenses.
This case also falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide initiative that unifies law enforcement levels and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN on May 26, 2021, emphasizing the importance of community trust, supporting violence prevention organizations, strategic law enforcement priorities, and result measurement. These principles have been at the heart of the project's focused efforts to make neighborhoods safer for all residents.
