Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Angel Hernandez Coss (38, Bradenton) to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine. Hernandez Coss had pleaded guilty on January 17, 2023.
According to court documents, Hernandez Coss and his codefendant, Nathasha Prieto, a former United States Postal Carrier, orchestrated a scheme by which Prieto provided addresses on her delivery route to Hernandez Coss who used those addresses to secure shipments of cocaine from Puerto Rico. As a result, kilogram quantities of cocaine were shipped in packages to these addresses. Prieto then removed the packages from the mail stream and provided them to Coss who then distributed the cocaine. Prieto previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23, 2023.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Manatee County Sherriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Preston.