HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man who pleaded guilty to selling meth to an informant will spend six years in federal prison.
On Friday, Franklin Calvo Jr. was sentenced in the District Court of Guam to 72 months, or six years, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to Calvo’s plea agreement, Calvo’s indictment was a result of law enforcement conducting surveillance on him in January 2021 after he sold meth to a Guam Police Department informant on two different occasions.
Calvo was seen leaving his Mongmong residence carrying a black pack and putting it inside a blue pickup truck. He was driving on Route 8 toward Marine Corps Drive when investigators conducted a traffic stop and arrested Calvo for the two transactions with the informant.
In Calvo’s car, police found 62.15 gross grams of meth and $8,271 in cash, which “indicated that Calvo was engaging in the sale of methamphetamine,” according to the plea.
He was brought to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms field office for an interview, where he stated he receives 2 ounces of meth from a source – who was not named in the plea agreement – and pays $3,350 per ounce.
Calvo added that he met with his source every couple of days and turned in $8,000 to $10,000 from meth sales every week and said the most he gave to his source was $20,000.
A search of Calvo’s apartment resulted in the seizure of $4,679 and two vehicles Calvo said he had purchased with drug proceeds. Along with his case being unsealed in the federal court, prosecutors filed a motion on the same day for Calvo to forfeit the cash and the two vehicles.
Recommendations
The U.S. attorney’s office argued Calvo should have been sentenced to 92 months in prison for the charge and that such a sentence would promote respect for the law, deter others and protect the community.
The sentence, according to prosecutors, was also suggested due to the seriousness of the offenses.
“The sales of the drug occurred at a local apartment complex. The nature and circumstances of the defendant’s sales of methamphetamine placed individuals and members of the community at risk,” the U.S. attorney’s sentencing memorandum stated.
In response, Calvo’s attorney Rawlen Mantanona recommended a 60-month, or five-year, sentence and cited Calvo’s assistance to the government in identifying others involved in distributing controlled substances and his agreement to testify.
Additionally, Calvo accepted responsibility, showed remorse and has been in rehabilitation, the defense said.
According to Mantanona, Calvo has beaten his methamphetamine addiction, as he last used in September 2021 and has actively participated in treatment. Calvo is also gainfully employed.
Following arguments, Senior Judge Alex Munson sentenced Calvo to 72 months of prison time and four years of supervised release.
