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Date: 04-06-2017
Case Style:
United States of America v. Joseph Jesus Grullon
Federal Courthouse - Norfolk, Virginia
Case Number: 2:16-cr-101
Judge: Raymond A. Jackson
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Chesapeake County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: Darryl J. Mitchell
Defendant's Attorney: Jim Theuer
Description: Norfolk, VA - Chesapeake Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
A Chesapeake man who arranged cocaine deals for a Honduran cocaine trafficker was sentenced to four years in prison.
Joseph Jesus Grullon, 26, of Chesapeake, pleaded guilty on January 6. According to court documents, in 2014, Grullon resided in Chesapeake with his mother, Janette Elena Cruz Miller, and her boyfriend, German Alvarado Ponce, the leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Ponce, a native of Honduras who was in the United States illegally, did not speak English. Grullon assisted Ponce by making phone calls to Ponce’s English speaking drug customers and arranging drug transactions. On July 15, 2014, law enforcement learned Grullon had arranged a sale of 4.5 kilograms of cocaine with one of Ponce’s customers, Kenneth Bell, of Portsmouth. After the transaction was completed, law enforcement searched Bell’s residence and seized approximately 3.6 kilograms of powder cocaine, 394 grams of cocaine base and approximately $194,000 in cash. See table below for information on the co-defendants in this case.
Janette Elena Cruz Miller
18 months
German Alvarado Ponce
240 months
Kenneth Bell
120 months
Joseph Jesus Grullon
48 months
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; Col. K.L. Wright, Chesapeake Chief of Police; and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to four years in prison.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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