A 32-year-old man who had a large cache of cocaine, guns and ammunition in his possession when federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents raided his luxury apartment in the Riverfront Park section of Denver last year has been sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison.
Federal Judge William Martinez also sentenced Robert Black, 32, to five years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine in a hearing last week in Denver U.S. District Court.
Black had pleaded guilty to one count of drug possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
“Robert Black profited from selling poison in our communities and furthered drug trafficking and violence, which is a constant battle for law enforcement and victims,” Ken Croke, ATF Denver Field Division special agent in charge, said in a statement on Thursday. “It is a win for law enforcement and our neighborhoods to have him back in prison.”
In October, Croke’s agents found four firearms, more than 800 rounds of ammunition, 173 grams of cocaine, thousands of pills of anabolic steroids and a large sum of cash, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
Black admitted that he had the guns to protect his drug trafficking business, the news release says.
Black was convicted in 2005 for drug trafficking. The conviction made it illegal for him to possess a firearm or ammunition, the release says.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamie Mendelson and Kurt Bohn prosecuted the case that was also investigated by Denver police.
