PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Jose Manuel Figueroa, 52, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 14 years and seven months in prison, and six years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker for numerous narcotics and firearms offenses.
In September 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to eight counts of distribution of heroin and one count each of possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The charges stemmed from an investigation in which the defendant sold heroin packaged for street-level distribution on numerous occasions between May 2018 and July 2018. In September 2018, investigators executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence and seized more heroin and two firearms stashed near the drugs. The defendant committed these offenses after having been previously convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and federal drug trafficking charges in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
“Drugs and firearms are a very dangerous combination, especially in Philadelphia where the violent crime rate has reached record levels,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Today’s sentence should serve as an example to others who have previously been convicted of felony offenses and are considering carrying firearms or committing other illegal acts: our ‘All Hands on Deck’ initiative uses every law enforcement tool at our disposal to find and stop you. We will continue our coordination with the Philadelphia Police Department and federal agencies to make the community safer by removing these criminals from the streets.”
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Pennsylvania State Police; and Phoenixville Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Francis A. Weber and Derek E. Hines.