LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s Darwin Leones, 27, and a co-conspirator, fellow Kauaian Reynaldo Sembrano Jr., traded three pistols for a half ounce of methamphetamine, according to federal attorneys. That is against federal law and Sembrano pleaded guilty in November 2008 to
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s Darwin Leones, 27, and a co-conspirator, fellow Kauaian Reynaldo Sembrano Jr., traded three pistols for a half ounce of methamphetamine, according to federal attorneys.
That is against federal law and Sembrano pleaded guilty in November 2008 to bartering one of the firearms for methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it.
Sembrano was sentenced to 101 months in federal prison, a sentence shorter than Leones’ because he agreed to testify against Leones, said Lou Bracco, assistant U.S. attorney.
Leones was found guilty in January after a four-day trial and was sentenced last Thursday to 152 months in prison, said Bracco, who handled the prosecution before Chief U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmore.
Leones faced maximum terms on the federal firearms trafficking and possession charges and methamphetamine possession charges of up to 20 years imprisonment for the conspiracy offense (conspiracy to use a firearm in a drug-trafficking crime), up to 10 years imprisonment on the offense of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm offense, up to two years imprisonment on the methamphetamine offense, and a mandatory minimum term of five years imprisonment on the bartering offense, which must run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment.
Both Leones and Sembrano received the maximum sentences, 60 months, on the bartering offenses. Leones was sentenced to 92 months on the other counts, and Sembrano 41 months on his other charges.
United States Attorney Edward H. Kubo, Jr. said Leones was convicted of conspiring to barter and bartering three firearms: a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver; a .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver; and a .38 caliber Bellmore-Johnson Tool Company derringer, for methamphetamine, in violation of federal law.
Leones was also convicted of unlawful possession (as a felon) of the same three firearms, and possession of methamphetamine.
The charges against Leones and Sembrano arose from a federal investigation of California methamphetamine trafficker Dennis McHugh Jr. Last year, McHugh and a third Kaua‘i resident, Stuart Merkel, were convicted of conspiracy to distribute approximately two pounds of methamphetamine on Kaua‘i in May 2007.
All of the crimes took place on Kaua‘i, Bracco said.
Evidence presented at Leones’ trial showed that Leones and Sembrano traded the three firearms to McHugh for approximately one-half ounce of methamphetamine.
McHugh is scheduled to be sentenced June 15, Bracco said.
Merkel was sentenced in October 2008 to a prison term of 127 months.
The investigation in this matter was conducted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Kaua‘i Police Department.
