Latest Guilty Plea In Sevier County Drug & Stolen Car Ring

Prosecutors with the federal government have announced the latest guilty plea in a cocaine trafficking case which included stolen cars and two Sevier County clerks. Jose Delacruz has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Delacruz is the latest of 11 people who have been arrested for their involvement in that drug trafficking ring and stolen car ring. He is due in court on December 1st. Juan Lopez Gallardo plead guilty last week to similar charges. In the stolen car part of that ring…Gallardo and two others altered vehicle identification numbers on vehicles that were stolen in Florida and then arranged for the stolen vehicles to be taken from Tennessee and Florida to other states. Two Sevier County Deputy Clerks were involved in that scheme as they supplied Tennessee registration and titles for those stolen vehicles in exchange for cash and other compensation.

Jose Delacruz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison with a maximum of up to 40 years in prison and a fine of as much as $5,000,000.