JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alejandro Estranda Aplesa, 27, from Deland, faces up to 40 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley III.
Aplesa was stopped on Interstate 95 for speeding in St. Johns County last August.
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At the scene, Aplesa and his passenger, Emma Abarca-Valdovinos, said there were no drugs in the car. The St. Johns Sheriff’s Office sent out a canine and handler that scented the drug. The car was then searched and three one-kilogram bags were found under the driver’s seat. The traffic stop then turned into an arrest.
Aplesa was charged in December.
During the trial, Aplesa said the cocaine wasn’t his. He said he was sent on an errand and did not know it was to distribute cocaine. Aplesa said he found the drugs and was on his way back to confront the man about it but was then pulled over by police.
A sentencing date has not been yet.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration also assisted in the investigation of this case.