A Honduran, MS-gang member 13, who had been deported twice to that country and returned to the United States was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for crimes related to drug and arms trafficking.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee reported that Franklin Pineda-Caceras, alias “Bomba ”, had been initially accused in July of 2019 for violating immigration laws, after being deported.
Subsequently, the man from 22 years pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the country, carrying ammunition and weapons, one with an erased serial number; in addition to possession of marijuana and cocaine with intent to distribute.
Pineda-Caceras was tried in a trial for a charge of possession of a weapon to promote a crime related to drug trafficking. He was found guilty by a federal jury on February 9, 2022.
According to court documents in the case, the Hispanic entered the United States illegally. in January of 2014 and was deported in June of 2016. After the expulsion, the undocumented immigrant returned to the country, and officers arrested him in October 2017 in a Nashville home. At that time, the agents seized digital scales, 41 grams of cocaine, more than 44 grams of marijuana, several pistols, an assault rifle and an arsenal of ammunition. Again, the man was deported in May of 2018.
In January of 2019, some seven months after his second deportation, Pineda-Caceras returned to the US and kidnapped a high school student and beat him after he refused to join the Mara Salvatrucha gang.
Authorities attempted to arrest the youth in July 2019 in connection with this crime. However, he managed to flee from the officers.
Two months later, the Honduran had a traffic accident and was injured. Agents who attended the scene determined that he was involved in the transfer of drugs due to material seized at the scene, including cocaine.
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