Axel Reyes-Garcia
HANCOCK COUNTY — One of two Maryland men charged with serious felony drug crimes from an incident in March of 2022 had his case settled following the acceptance of a plea agreement during a sentencing hearing in Hancock County Superior Court 1 Wednesday afternoon.
Gilberto Duvan Guerra-Posadas, 26, Germantown, Md. and Axel Starlin Reyes-Garcia, 20, Silver Spring, Md., were each originally charged with a Level 2 felony count of dealing methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony count of dealing cocaine and a Class B misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.
Law enforcement officials found methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana in a SUV the two were driving in after the vehicle was pulled over on I-70 near mile-marker 108 in the county in March of 2022.
While Guerra-Posadas was sentenced for his crimes this past summer, Reyes-Garcia had his case settled earlier this week when Judge D.J. Davis handed down the sentence agreed upon in the plea deal.
Davis, noted after receiving the pre-sentence investigation (PSI), and hearing arguments from the parties, he accepted the plea deal and gave a 10-year term for the Level 2 felony of dealing methamphetamine charge with seven years to be executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) and three years suspended to probation.
The other charges in the case were dismissed as part of the plea deal. Reyes-Garcia also has earned a total of 777 credit days, court documents state.
The other man in the case, Guerra-Posadas had his case settled in June. He admitted guilt to the Level 2 felony count of dealing methamphetamine while the other two charges he was facing were dismissed. He was given a 10-year term with eight years to be served at the IDOC and two years suspended to probation.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a deputy from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department who was monitoring east bound traffic through the county March 14, 2022 noticed a silver SUV in the slow lane following a tractor trailer too closely.
Following a routine traffic stop, the law enforcement officials reported a “really strong odor of raw marijuana” coming from the SUV when the deputy approached the vehicle, the report stated. The SUV was a rental, the driver, identified as Guerra-Posadas, said in the report. He also told officials he and the passenger, Reyes-Garcia, had been on a cross-country trip to Hollywood, Calif. and had just been through Denver, Colo. to see some friends and purchase a present for a woman.
Officials were eventually given permission by Guerra-Posadas to search the vehicle, the report stated. The deputy noted the rear passenger side panel of the SUV was loose, and that’s where an official found plastic grocery sacks containing raw plant material (marijuana), the report stated.
Officials decided to move the vehicle off the highway due to safety concerns and conducted the remainder of the search of the vehicle in a garage, the report said.
That’s where officials found one kilo brick package of contraband that field tested positive for 2.5 pounds of cocaine and two other packages that totaled 2.1 pounds of a crystal-like substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, officials said in the report. The three large packages were found in the head liner just inside the rear cargo door, officials said in the report.
Both men remained inmates in the Hancock County Jail until their cases were settled.
