Leniency Denied for Armed Drug Trafficker After 14th Illegal Entry Arrest

A 30-year-old citizen of Mexico was sentenced Tuesday to serve the next 12 years in a federal prison after being arrested in Michigan and convicted of firearms and drug trafficking charges. According to U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis, Francisco Javier Rivera-Hidalgo was arrested earlier this year at his Wyoming, Mich., apartment where police found multiple firearms, approximately 330 pounds of marijuana, two kilograms of cocaine, more than $37,000 in cash and other drug-trafficking paraphernalia. In July, Rivera-Hidalgo pleaded guilty and asked U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff for leniency in his sentence. But according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rivera-Hidalgo’s request was denied after having illegally re-entered the U.S. at least 14 separate times in the past. In fact, Judge Neff exceeded a probation officer’s recommendation that Rivera-Hidalgo serve just over 10 years in prison...more