CAPE COD TIMES
Two Dennis men will face at least 15 years each in state prison after they were found guilty yesterday of trafficking nearly a half-kilogram of cocaine from New York City.
Following six days of testimony and more than 20 witnesses, a Barnstable County Superior Court jury took about two hours to return guilty verdicts against Hector Jimenez-Simo, 25, and Anthony Reyes, 27, both of 109 Route 28, who were each charged after police found them with 436 grams of cocaine.
Investigators from the Dennis Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force, who had been tracking Reyes and Jimenez-Simo since November, arrested the two men Dec. 5 on Route 25 in Bourne as they returned from New York City with the drugs, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office.
The cocaine, valued at more than $88,000, was stored in a television set in the rear passenger seat.
"It is a large amount of cocaine, and it illustrates the pipeline between New York City and Cape Cod for the distribution of drugs," District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said yesterday. "It's a good thing this particular load was intercepted."
The case is thought to be the first on the Cape to include evidence presented from new Global Positioning System technology which investigators used to track the vehicle to and from New York and around the Cape as they were allegedly made drug deals, said Assistant District Attorney Nicole Manoog, who prosecuted the case.
"I don't think many courts have allowed that evidence before. ... It's definitely becoming an important tool," Manoog said yesterday.
"We've all seen how GPS has helped us in our personal lives. This is a great application of that technology for law enforcement," echoed Dennis police Chief Mike Whalen.
Judge Robert C. Rufo sentenced Jimenez-Simo, thought to lead the operation, to 17 to 20 years at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction in Walpole. Reyes, who prosecutors believe served as a body guard, was sentenced to 15 years.
Reyes' attorney, Lawrence Glynn of Falmouth, did not return calls yesterday. Jimenez-Simo's attorney, Robert Galibois of Plymouth, declined to comment.
"(Those are) as harsh a sentence as you receive for manslaughter," said O'Keefe, the District Attorney. "I wouldn't suggest that this is an end to the flow (of drugs from New York). But I hope it sends a message to those people who would engage in this level of trafficking, you're going to face justice."
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