PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A Central Falls man who was deported to the Dominican Republic in 1999 after his conviction on a drug charge has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States.
Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Elvin Cruz Then also received three years of probation at the end of his prison sentence on Tuesday, and faces deportation again.
Authorities say Then was arrested by Rhode Island State Police in Cranston in May 2009, with cocaine in a hidden compartment in his right sneaker. He had been sentenced to nearly four years in prison following a 1996 conviction in North Carolina for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Then also faces state charges in Rhode Island, including drug possession with the intent to distribute and identity fraud.
------
Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/
