College Park man sentenced in cocaine ring

GREENBELT, Md. - A Salvadorean resident of College Park was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, possess with the intent to distribute powdered and crack cocaine, as well as various other charges, according to the U.S. Attorney for Maryland.

Between July 2009 to August 2010, Nestor Vladimir Sandoval Roca, also know as William Zapatero, made at least 12 controlled purchases of crack cocaine to undercover law enforcement officials, totaling 62 grams each. During at least 10 trips to Houston, Sandoval and others sold more than two kilograms of cocaine each, converting some of it to crack cocaine.

Sandoval, who had been deported three times to El Salvador before, was arrested by law enforcement in August 2010 while driving from Houston to Maryland with about two kilograms of cocaine in his vehicle. A subsequent search of his home yielded a semi-automatic handgun, which Sandoval was prohibited from owning.

Authorities say that Sandoval was responsible for distributing at least 840 grams of crack cocaine and 20 kilograms of powder cocaine.