DRUG TRAFFICKER AND CONVICTED FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 29 YEARS IN PRISON
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICES), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced today that defendant Dewayne Joseph was sentenced to 352 months in prison on February 25, 2011 before United States District Judge Jose A. Gonzalez, Jr.
On November 9, 2010, the defendant was convicted by a federal jury for possessing a firearm after being previously convicted of a felony offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1), possessing with the intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A). On April 20, 2010, a joint task force of officers from the City of Miami Police Department and special agents from ICE Homeland Security Investigations conducted a gang enforcement operation in the area of NW 4th Avenue and NW 56th Street in Miami. The officers and agents observed the defendant fleeing the area and followed the defendant into the yard of a nearby private residence. During the ensuing chase, the officers and agents observed the defendant throwing what appeared to be a gun on the ground as he fled. Law enforcement found the gun along with a plastic baggie containing crack cocaine in the same location. The defendant was apprehended soon thereafter and taken into custody.
Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Task Force in Miami with the assistance by the City of Miami Police Department, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Strauss and Jamie M. McCall.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
