From Chelsea Phua:
A major cocaine supplier in Sacramento has been sentenced to 16 and a half years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott's office said Monday.
Prosecutors say Eddie Houston Jr., 36, of Sacramento, will also be supervised for 10 years following his release.
Houston pleaded guilty to a three-part conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, to possess with intent to distribute powder cocaine and to manufacture crack cocaine on March 3, authorities said.
Prosecutors say Houston supplied large quantities of crack cocaine to drug dealers and users in the neighborhoods of Del Paso Heights, Oak Park, Meadowview and the Dos Rios Public Housing Complex in downtown Sacramento.
Houston admitted to using a residence in the 3000 block of Cactus Way to cook powder cocaine into crack cocaine, to store the drug and conduct sales.
More than a year ago, a search conducted at Houston's place yielded what authorities called the largest crack cocaine seizure by the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Sacramento region, officials said.
DEA agents and Sacramento police officers recovered about seven pounds of crack cocaine worth $250,000, two pounds of power cocaine, cooking instruments and ingredients, digital scales and an electronic money-counting machine.
They also found $12,000 in cash on Houston, a validated gang member, when he was stopped a few blocks away in a Jaguar.
U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said Houston had caused a lot of pain and suffering for a lot of families and deserved a "big-time" sentence.
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