Man caught with 13 pounds of cocaine sentenced to 19 years in jail

A routine traffic stop that resulted in more than 13 pounds of cocaine being seized has led to a lengthy prison sentence for a California man. Marcos Gonzalez, 37, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for attempting to deliver 13.3 pounds of cocaine with a street value of about $600,000. Gonzalez received the sentence on Jan. 9 in Platte County Circuit Court after pleading guilty on Oct. 3 to first degree drug trafficking. “This is a massive amount of cocaine worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said. “Thanks to the work of an alert deputy with the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, this drug runner will now spend many years in prison.” According to court documents, on April 16, 2013 a deputy with the Platte County Sheriff’s Department made a routine traffic stop of a U-Haul box van driven by Gonzalez near Interstates 29 and 435 south of Platte City. Gonzalez gave the deputy permission to search the vehicle. During his search, the deputy found a heat sealer and rubber bands, which are commonly used to package narcotics and bulk cash. The deputy also located 13.3 pounds of cocaine inside the bottom lining of three black suitcases. “Our deputies will continue to aggressively enforce narcotics laws in Platte County,” Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen said. “Deputies assigned to the patrol division have all received specialized training to recognize situations when large quantities of drugs could be hidden in a vehicle.”