Wyoming Man Busted with 335 Pounds of Pot now faces Federal Charges

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Wyoming Man Busted With 335 Pounds of Pot now faces Federal Charges
Barton Deiters
The Grand Rapids Press
February 24, 2010

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...th_335_po.html

WYOMING -- The good news for Francisco Javier Riveria-Hidalgo is he's no longer facing charges in Kent County {Michigan} courts stemming from the alleged discovery of hundreds of pounds of pot in a pair of North Wyoming houses.

The bad news for the 29-year-old resident of Mexico is that he is now facing charges in federal court that could bring 20 years in prison, and likely will face more charges as the case progresses.

On Jan. 28, a combined squad of Wyoming police and the Metropolitan Enforcement team arrested Riveria-Hidalgo in his home north of Chicago Drive SW, and then raided another home nearby.

Police allegedly found more than five pounds of cocaine and an eye-popping 335 pounds of marijuana -- police estimate the drugs' value at more than $500,000.

In addition to the drugs and $30,000 in cash, police say they discovered a pair of guns at the 1125 Rathbone St. SW home, according to a federal affidavit filed Wednesday by Cory Howe, a senior special agent with the U.S. departments of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- knows as ICE.

In the closet of the bedroom Riveria-Hidalgo shared with his wife, there was a Taurus 9mm handgun, and a Mossberg 20-gauge shotgun was found on a pool table in the basement, according to the affidavit. Howe wrote that Riveria-Hidalgo's wife and two children were in the home at the time the warrant was executed.

"Riveria-Hidalgo's wife told officers she was aware of the handgun located in the bedroom," the affidavit stated, adding that her husband obtained the 9mm handgun about 10 months ago. "Riveria-Hidalgo does not allow her to go into the basement of the residence."

The guns got the attention of the federal government because it is illegal for an illegal alien to posses a firearm.

Each charge carries a maximum 10-year penalty, which can be stacked in a consecutive sentence in federal court.

According to immigration fingerprint records, Riveria-Hidalgo is a citizen of Mexico who has been returned south of the border 14 times between September 1999 and May 2001.

Riveria-Hidalgo was in Wyoming District Court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing on charges of delivery of marijuana and cocaine, but Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Timothy Doyle said the office has decided not to prosecute, allowing the federal case to move forward.

Defense attorney Paul Mitchell said he will likely continue to represent Riveria-Hidalgo at the federal level.