A Camden man was sentenced today to 115 months in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and crack cocaine in the city.
Waldemar Garcia, 36, of Camden, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin as well as quantities of crack cocaine. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, documents filed in this case and statements made in court, 19 defendants were arrested in late 2018 on drug-trafficking charges based on the FBI’s investigation of a drug-trafficking organization that ran the open-air narcotics trade on the 400-500 block of Pine Street in Camden for several months in 2018.
The organization included street-level sellers like Garcia who worked various shifts selling drugs to customers and collecting drug proceeds.
Seventeen defendants have now pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges. Two defendants are awaiting trial; the charges and allegations against them are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Garcia to five years of supervised release.