Gulfport, Miss. - A Florida man was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Vicente Valerio, 32, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
According to court records, On Oct. 11, 2022, a DEA Task Force Officer (TFO) conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Silverado on Interstate 10 in Gulfport, Mississippi. The driver of the vehicle and sole occupant was identified as Vicente Valerio. Officers searched Valerio’s vehicle and found three bags containing forty bricks of cocaine. Each brick weighed a kilogram of cocaine.
Valerio was indicted on Nov. 1, 2022, and plead guilty on March 24, 2023.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the support of the Gulfport Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys