The streets of the District's Petworth neighborhood just got a little cleaner, as repeat felon and drug trafficker Francisco Roche, 35, will be spending the next 110 months behind bars. The sentence follows Roche's guilty plea back in February for crimes including drug trafficking of PCP and illegal firearm possession. As detailed by a U.S. Department of Justice release, Roche will also face five years of supervised release post-prison.
Known on the streets as "Roach", his operation was shut down after several sales of liquid PCP -- curiously packaged in baby bottles -- to police informants were documented. Despite being saddled with four prior felony convictions, Roche appeared undeterred, actively distributing narcotics and packing heat in public areas.
On one occasion, as mentioned by the DOJ, Roche managed to transfer about eight ounces of liquid PCP to an informant using the unconventional disguise of a baby bottle. Another transaction involved five ounces of the hallucinogenic, along with some fentanyl and crack cocaine. His entrepreneurial spirit, however, was not confined to drug sales. Also nestled in the bed of crime Roche made for himself, a loaded handgun sat conspicuously in the cupholder of his car on 12th Street NW, which was later uncovered by local police.
Roche's arrest on December 22nd by the Metropolitan Police Department didn't quite put an end to his drug peddling ways. Officers recovered various narcotics and evidence of his PCP dealings during a search of his residence. Even from behind bars, Roche would not relinquish the rudder of his sinking ship: He continued to coordinate with a co-conspirator to distribute PCP, as part of their spiraling conspiracy ensnared in the law's unforgiving talons.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany V. Wynn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Strong led the prosecution, stemming from an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department and the DEA Washington Division. The trafficking operation run by Roche is now strikingly concluded, with a heavy sentence that the justice department hopes will serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals in the community.
