by Kevin Lilly
A man accused of dealing $600 in cocaine in Logansport has confessed to the crime.
On Thursday, 42-year-old Vincente Avila admitted in Cass Circuit Court he delivered more than three grams of cocaine to his co-defendant, 38-year-old Jaime Rubi Pedroza, on Sept. 2, 2008. Pedroza reportedly intended to pass the narcotics onto a buyer.
“Yes, I am here to declare myself guilty,” Avila said through the Rev. Buddy Holder, a court interpreter.
Avila’s change of plea came on the eve of a jury trial scheduled for Monday. In exchange for pleading guilty, the state reduced the dealing charge from a class A felony, which carries a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, to a class B felony, which has a range of six to 20 years.
Avila agreed to the maximum sentence to be served as follows: six years in prison and 14 years on probation.
Avila, a Logansport resident reportedly living in the United States illegally, will not likely serve time on probation, said deputy prosecutor Lisa Swaim.
Swaim explained to Judge Leo Burns that after a conviction for dealing cocaine federal authorities would consider Avila an aggravated felon, a classification that speeds up the deportation process.
Swaim called the plea deal a “fair resolution” and defense attorney Stephanie Doran concurred.
Burns accepted terms of the plea agreement and found Avila guilty. Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. on April 1.
Avila will remain in the Cass County Jail until sentencing. He will then serve his prison time before being deported, Swaim said.
The class A felony case against Pedroza is still pending. Both Avila and Pedroza were arrested as a result of an investigation by the Cass County Drug Task Force.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
