A Berks County man admitted Tuesday in federal court in Wilkes-Barre that he participated in a drug-trafficking conspiracy in 2011 in Schuylkill and other Pennsylvania counties.
Jose Sandoval-Martinez, 33, of Reading, faces prison time and deportation to Mexico as the result of his pleading guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo to a conspiracy charge.
Sandoval-Martinez admitted conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 500 grams of methamphetamine during 2011 in Berks, Dauphin and Schuylkill, according to U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith.
Caputo scheduled Sandoval-Martinez's sentencing for Nov. 1. If Caputo accepts the plea agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, Sandoval-Martinez will be sentenced to 10 years in a federal correctional institution.
Since he is a Mexican national, Sandoval-Martinez also faces possible deportation, according to Smith.
A federal grand jury indicted Sandoval-Martinez on Nov. 8, 2011.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
