TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that an Orange County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a heroin trafficking operation that was responsible for distributing heroin throughout Central Florida. Wense Armando Gonzalez pleaded guilty to criminal charges in late 2006 and was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. In addition to the lengthy prison sentence, Gonzalez must reimburse the state for the costs of prosecuting him and the costs associated with extraditing him from New York where he fled.
Gonzalez, 39, was originally arrested in April 2006 after a lengthy investigation by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The investigation revealed that Gonzalez and a group of associates were bringing large amounts of heroin into Central Florida. The group would then repackage and distribute the narcotics to heroin dealers throughout Central Florida. Prior to his sentencing date, originally scheduled for September 2007, Gonzalez fled to New York and became a fugitive. He was tracked to Brooklyn, New York by agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and rearrested in November 2007.
The Office of Statewide Prosecution charged Gonzalez with conspiring to traffic in heroin, 28 grams or more; trafficking in heroin, four grams or more; and delivery of heroin. He was sentenced by the Honorable Robert P. LeBlanc, Circuit Court Judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida. Six of Gonzalez’s co-defendants have previously been sentenced to prison or probationary sentences; two are awaiting sentencing later this spring; and one is currently a fugitive.
A copy of Gonzalez's booking information is available online here.