New York man admits to drug charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Pedro Garcia Rondon, of New York, has admitted to a drug charge, Acting United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Rondon, 33, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Cocaine Hydrochloride and Cocaine Base.” Rondon admitted to working with others to distribute cocaine hydrochloride and cocaine case from June 2019 to December 2019. 

Rondon is facing up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The U.S. Marshal Service and the West Virginia Air National Guard assisted with the arrests.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

Original press release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/25-charged-six-state-drug-conspiracy-involving-heroin-fentanyl-cocaine