ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jan Lopez-Colon, age 29, of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role as the leader of a Capital Region cocaine distribution conspiracy. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement.
On December 29, 2022, Lopez-Colon pled guilty before Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Lopez-Colon admitted that between June 2021 and December 2021, he and three others worked together to receive over 5 kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico and distribute it in the Capital Region. The cocaine was shipped via U.S. mail in 1-kilogram bricks to addresses in Albany and Rensselaer counties; runners then obtained the packages and handed them over to Lopez-Colon for processing and distribution.
Judge Sharpe also imposed a 5-year term of supervised release, which will begin when Lopez-Colon is released from prison.
Lopez-Colon’s three codefendants have also pled guilty for their roles in the conspiracy. They are:
- Jesus Baez, age 34, of Troy, who was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment on July 11, 2023;
- Ilvin Batista-Figueroa, age 31, of Albany, who is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2023; and
- Sam Calderon, age 20, of Troy, who is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2023.
This case was investigated by the USPIS and its Capital Region Task Force, led by the USPIS and including the Albany Police Department, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Schenectady Police Department, as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting the case.
Sean Hocking
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