Drug dealer gets more than 12 years in federal case

A Lorain man will spend more than 12 years in prison after he was sentenced Aug. 29 in federal court for possession of carfentanil.

Manuel J. “Ocks” Latorre, 27, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 9.3 grams of the deadly synthetic opioid and distributing a controlled substance, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

“This defendant had a weapon of mass destruction, just in a different form,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in the release. “This amount of carfentanil could have killed thousands of people.

“Federal law enforcement will continue to work with our partners in Lorain County to bring to justice the people profiting from this drug epidemic.”

The release said Latorre has about 50 prior arrests and 17 adult convictions.

This case has created a rift between local law enforcement and Lorain County Common Pleas judges as police feel Latorre specifically received lenient sentences for previous convictions.

The tensions boiled over just before sentencing on four of Latorre’s latest local drug cases October 2017, when Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Betleski delayed the hearing due to a news release distributed by the Lorain Police Department claiming the judges weren’t doing their part to stop the supply of deadly opiates in the county.

At the time, Latorre had been arrested on additional drug charges while awaiting sentencing.

Betleski chose to push the hearing to give a chance to the defense attorney to possibly ask for his removal from the case.

That request was never made and Betleski ended up sentencing Latorre to 42 months in prison.