OAKLAND — A Concord man was sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison, months after he admitted to selling more than a kilogram of cocaine to a federal informant during a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation.
Oscar Rene Noguera Baeza, 31, was given 70 months in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to charges of cocaine distribution and gun possession. When federal prosecutors charged him last August, he was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Baeza accepted the plea deal in November.
Memos by prosecution and defense attorneys differed on the appropriate sentence for Baeza and his potential for danger to the community, but both agreed he had a supportive family and was gainfully employed.
Prosecutors said they gathered evidence Baeza was selling cocaine for three years. During the course of an eight-month investigation, he reportedly sold a total of more than a kilogram to a federal informant for $36,900.
Baeza has six prior convictions, including for cocaine possession, driving under the influence, battery and possession of a switchblade, the prosecution memo says. Prosecutors also alleged Baeza had ties to a Northern California street gang, but did not elaborate. They asked for a 78-month sentence.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, described Baeza as a “loving, hard-working and dependable boyfriend, brother, and son” who had overseen construction projects “on Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino and Google’s headquarters, the Googleplex in Mountain View.” They included roughly 20 pages of support letters from friends and family, including Baeza’s mother.
“Yes, my son has made some decisions that he isn’t proud of but that doesn’t define who he truly is,” Baeza’s mother wrote. “I know my son is very remorseful for what has happened and he has learned his lesson.”
After serving his sentence, Baeza will have to complete a four-year federal probation term.