Honduran national convicted on federal drug charges

NORFOLK, Va. – A Honduran national was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, early on the morning of June 20, 2023, Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) officers responded to a report of an unconscious person in a car and found Delvin Antonio Cruz-Melgar, 25 years old, asleep at the wheel. of a red Dodge that had been involved in a hit-and-run with another vehicle approximately 90 minutes earlier. After observing a meth pipe in plain view, the VBPD initiated a probable cause search of the red Dodge and located a second meth pipe, a plastic bag containing 4.57 grams of meth, and a black bag containing 225 .44 grams of methamphetamine.

During a search of Cruz-Melgar's person, officers discovered a loaded Walther PPX 9mm handgun in his waistband, as well as $760 in cash. Detectives from the VBPD Special Investigation Unit were called to the scene. Detectives located a stolen Akkar Churchill Model 612 12 gauge shotgun, a digital scale, several cell phones and ammunition in the vehicle.

Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, special agent in charge of the Washington Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Field Division; Liana Castano, Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Washington, DC; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, DC; Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate; and Col. Gary T. Settle, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, made the announcement following sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

Assistant United States Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell and Special Assistant United States Attorney Marc W. West, Assistant Attorney General in the Virginia Attorney General's Office, 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 the PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community organizations that help prevent violence in the first place , define targeted and strategic priorities. implementation priorities and measurement of results