Norristown Man Found Guilty On Drug Trafficking Charges
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA (CBS) -- A Norristown man is found guilty of dozens of felony charges related to drug trafficking heroin worth millions of dollars.
Prosecutors argued he did it out of greed, while the defense claimed his family was being threatened by a powerful drug cartel.
It took a Montgomery County jury over two hours to find 45-year-old David Pacheco guilty on 22 of 23 felony counts, including multiple counts of possession with intent to deliver.
Pacheco was accused of trafficking heroin with an estimated street value of about $9 million dollars between Atlanta to New York, with drugs hidden inside an elaborate, working car battery.
"Each time they brought a load through, a million dollars worth of heroin, and 100,000 doses. By taking this off, the detectives took a lot of heroin out of the hands of users," said Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele.
Pacheco's attorney didn't dispute the charges, but argued his client committed the crimes under duress as a powerful Mexico drug cartel was threatening his family if he didn't comply.