Utah Drug Trafficker Admits to Selling Narcotics, Sentenced to 65 Months in Prison

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Luis Alexander Coronado, 25, of Herriman, Utah, was sentenced to over 5 years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release and the forfeiture of $23,074 by a U.S. District Court Judge as a result of a guilty plea. Coronado engaged in a serious drug trafficking offense involving large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl in the District of Utah.

According to court documents and statements made at the change of plea hearing, Coronado possessed heroin that he intended to distribute. On March 7, 2023, Coronado was arrested after a search warrant was executed at his residence. In his home, agents found approximately 3500 grams of heroin, 41,000 pills containing fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine, all of which Coronado admitted he intended to distribute to others. Agents also seized $23,074, which Coronado admitted was obtained by selling drugs. See prior press release here.

“Community safety is a top priority,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. “I want to thank law enforcement and my office’s prosecutors for their commitment to removing narcotics from criminals like Coronado who put our communities at risk."

“The amount of illicit drugs seized from Luis Coronado was enough to potentially kill thousands of Utahns,” said Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Countless lives have been destroyed by the overdose epidemic and the FBI and our partners will pursue those who fuel these addictions in our communities.” 

The case was investigated by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force. 

Assistant United States Attorney, Vernon G. Stejskal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.