Oxford Man Sentenced to 130 Months for Cocaine Distribution
GREENVILLE – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina John Stuart Bruce announced that yesterday in federal court, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm J. Howard, sentenced ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ CROSS, 33, of Oxford, to 130 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release. On April 10, 2017, CROSS pled guilty to one-count of Distribution and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Cocaine and to one-count of Distribution and Possession with Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base.
In 2014, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Raleigh, along with officers from the Oxford Police Department initiated an investigation into the drug-trafficking activities of CROSS. They discovered that CROSS sold cocaine and the defendant also converted cocaine into cocaine base on occasion. Agents conducted eight controlled purchases from CROSS beginning in March 2014 and concluding in April 2015. Further investigation revealed CROSS was arrested on numerous occasions for drug-trafficking activities.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Oxford Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Toby Lathan prosecuted the case for the government.