Man gets 16 years after being convicted of drug-trafficking, gun charges

SAN JOSE >> A 35-year-old San Jose man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison after being convicted of drug-trafficking and gun charges, according to federal prosecutors.

In June, a jury convicted Armando Calderon of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine, carrying a firearm during a drugtrafficking crime, conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Tuesday.

Calderon initially was arrested for multiple warrants near Keyes Street and South Third Street in San Jose on Aug. 20, 2018. According to prosecutors, officers with the San Jose State University Police Department found $5,363 in cash and six bullets in his pockets.

Inside Calderon’s pickup truck, officers also found a loaded, .40-caliber pistol with additional ammunition, three bags containing 1.83 pounds of methamphetamine and a high-capacity pistol magazine loaded with 18 bullets, according to prosecutors.

Just weeks later, Calderon arranged to sell 33 pounds of methamphetamine to a potential buyer in the San Mateo area. According to prosecutors, he was arrested Sept. 25, 2018, at a shopping center in Menlo Park, where he agreed to deliver the drugs.

Officers seized over 2 pounds of methamphetamine at the scene and over 14 pounds of pure methamphetamine at a nearby stash house, according to prosecutors. Documents bearing Calderon’s name also were found at the stash house.

According to prosecutors, prior to his second arrest, Calderon hid over 2/3 of a pound of methamphetamine inside a Ford Mustang parked outside the stash house.

Calderon “exhibited dangerousness” during his encounters with police, according to prosecutors. For example, during his second arrest, he grabbed a gun from an officer and pointed it at police before they overcame him and placed him in handcuffs.

Calderon’s defense attorney, Alan Dressler, argued for a 180-month sentence. In his request for leniency, Dressler pointed to the trauma his client suffered as a young boy, including physical abuse at the hands of his mother and the suicide of his stepfather.

“Mr. Calderon has told U.S. Probation that upon his release he would like to obtain a good job, have his own home with a family and stay away from people and the neighborhoods where he has gotten into trouble, and hopes to get self-situated financially and ‘strive for the best,’ ” Dressler wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

“He also indicated that he ‘would like he probation department to help with any job training that will help him live a law-abiding life and to stay away from drugs,’ ” he continued.

In addition to sentencing Calderon to 198 months in prison, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ordered him to serve five years of supervised release. Calderon, who has been in custody since his second arrest, will begin serving his sentence immediately.