www.rutlandherald.com
Published August 3, 2016 in the Rutland Herald
Man sentenced for heroin sales
By ERIC FRANCIS
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield resident who was the focus of a drug raid March 31, has reached a plea agreement and begun serving jail time.
Eddie Cruz, 54, pleaded guilty July 26 to felony counts of selling and possessing heroin and was ordered to immediately begin serving a sentence of one to four years behind bars.
Cruz also agreed to forfeit $4,189 in cash and several handguns seized when Springfield Police executed a search warrant at his residence.
“He's a 54-year-old man and has no criminal history whatsoever. He's lived in Springfield with his family for over a decade now,” said Cabot Teachout, Cruz's defense attorney.
“He began to abuse pain medication and I think we've heard this story over and over before and here we are today,” Teachout told the court. “He's prepared to take responsibility and hopefully he can rejoin his family as soon as possible and recover from his addiction and move on with his life.”
“Well, 557 bags (of heroin) is more than personal use, so something more is going on there,” Judge Theresa DiMauro replied.
As part of the plea deal, the state amended the felonies down from heroin trafficking charge that had originally been filed and dropped a charge alleging cocaine possession.
Detective Patrick Call wrote in an affidavit that Cruz confessed to police he had been selling crack to 10 to 15 customers in Springfield and heroin to around 10 people for the past year, making a couple of trips to southern Vermont each week to meet a “runner” coming up from Massachusetts or Connecticut with more.
Cruz told police he does not work and receives Social Security disability benefits, Call said, and was selling drugs to make money to pay bills.
“Cruz estimated that on average he would purchase 60 pieces of crack cocaine and five ‘bricks' (250 bags) of heroin at time,” the detective wrote.
In addition to the cash and drugs, police said they found three handguns, two of which were fully loaded; drug paraphernalia; cellphones; computers and eight packages of the drug Suboxone.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160803/NEWS02/160809902
RE: Cruz told police he does not work and receives Social Security disability benefits.......
ReplyDeleteShocked! Shocked I tell you!
If he is getting SS, then he will probably keep getting the payment while in jail, put into an account for latter use. Big party when he gets set free. LETS PARTY !!!
DeleteHey, it is heeding the tenets of freedom to make more money any way you can. He clearly is following the likes of W in exercising that freedom the islamofascists hate.
DeleteYeah, be sure to lump all the honest disabled citizens (including disabled veterans) into the same category as Cruz. IT IS AN EARNED BENEFIT! Even a schmuck like Cruz had to work to get it, although he will lose it now.
ReplyDeleteWell, my first post didn't get through, so here goes. Although I cannot condone Mr. Cruz's actions, (I personally believe in the death penalty for heroin dealers) I feel it necessary to remind folks that SSDI is not welfare, but an earned benefit. Cruz, as contemptible as he is, actually had to work a legitimate job to get it. As a disabled veteran on SSDI, I am furious with the likes of Mr. Cruz because he gives people like me a bad name. What infuriates me even more is that the only reason he is able to do so is because of the ignorance of people who have been LUCKY ENOUGH not to have suffered a disabling injury or illness. And really, it's just luck, not superiority. Everyone in this country is only one drunk (or stoned) driver, one work related accident away from permanent total disability. Pray it doesn't happen to you; not only will you be deprived of any meaningful life, you'll have to contend with people calling you a bum on top of it!
ReplyDelete