Lynn drug suspect sentenced to 10 years

SALEM – A Lynn furniture upholsterer was sentenced to 10 years in state prison after admitting he was dealing large amounts of heroin in Lynn in 2008.Claudirys De La Cruz, 28, last known address of 284 Maple St., #2, Lynn, made his plea to a reduced charge Monday morning in Salem Superior Court, confessing to a charge of trafficking over 28 grams of heroin as well as possession with the intent to distribute heroin and resisting arrest.Judge Timothy Q. Feeley agreed to adopt the sentence agreement reached by Assistant District Attorney Christine Pujals Ronan and defense lawyer Kirk W. Bransfield of Lynn.Under the terms of the plea negotiations, Ronan agreed to reduce the original quantity of heroin down from trafficking over 200 grams of heroin, which eliminated a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in state prison.Ronan told Feeley she would have established at trial that on July 2, 2008 De La Cruz was arrested after he was talking to a special investigator, police officer Richard Fucci, on Western Avenue when he noticed illegal narcotics underneath De La Cruz’s tongue, Ronan said.When the officer ordered him to spit it out, there was a struggle. At some point De La Cruz reached into his front left pocket and tossed a bag over the fence, which was later retrieved following his arrest.The bag contained one finger or 10 grams of heroin, according to Ronan.Then on the morning of Nov. 18, Drug Task Force members executed a search of his Maple Street apartment and seized approximately 380 grams of heroin, worth an estimated $75,000 to $100,000 on the street.The heroin was found in a bathroom vent by police. Additional documentation linking De La Cruz to the apartment was also found along with $500 in cash, believed to be proceeds from drug sales.In asking the judge to accept the plea concession, Bransfield said his client has been working as a furniture upholsterer, has one child living with his mother in Puerto Rico and is legally here.De La Cruz was indicted by an Essex County grand jury in January of 2009 and has been held in custody in lieu of bail for nearly three years.The judge credited him the 888 days he has spent in jail awaiting trial on the case.