A Honduran national was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. According to court documents, early on the morning of June 20, 2023, officers with the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) responded to a report of an unconscious person in a car and found Delvin Antonio Cruz-Melgar, 25, asleep behind the wheel of a red Dodge that had been involved in a hit-and-run accident about 90 minutes earlier.
After observing a meth pipe in plain view, VBPD initiated a probable cause search of the red Dodge and located a second meth pipe, a plastic bag containing 4.57 grams of meth, and a black bag containing 225.44 grams of meth. During a search of Cruz-Melgar’s person, officers discovered a loaded Walther PPX 9mm handgun in his waistband, as well as $760 in cash. Detectives with the VBPD Special Investigations Unit were called to the scene and located additional items including a stolen Akkar Churchill Model 612 12-gauge shotgun, a digital scale, multiple cellphones, and ammunition in the vehicle.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Liana Castano, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington D.C.; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington D.C.; Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police; and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc W. West prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities they serve. The Department launched an enhanced violent crime reduction strategy on May 26, 2021.
A copy of this press release is available on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-134.
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