UTAH COUNTY, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Prosecutors say Utah is a revolving door for illegal immigrant drug dealers.
Utah County Major Crimes Task Force followed Jose Luis Barcenaz from Kearns to Lehi on November 28, 2012 where they stopped him on southbound I-15.
Officers found 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine at his feet and arrested him.
A Utah County judge sentenced Barcenaz on Tuesday to 90 days in jail and he will be deported to Mexico, but this isn’t the first time Barcenaz was arrested in Utah.
He was deported to Mexico in 2006 because he was found guilty of having a controlled substance.
“If someone is released after a short period of time they can go out and harm the community again, but if they spend 5 years (in prison) we’re without a person committing a crime,” said Utah County Attorney, Ryan McBride.
Attorneys like McBride say the law is unbalanced. Barcenaz is guilty of possessing 2.5 pounds of meth and as a result will serve 90 days in jail before deportation.
McBride compared this punishment to lesser crimes, “It’s not uncommon for someone who has used meth repeatedly, someone who has a criminal history or someone who won’t follow the courts orders on probation and uses meth to get a 240-day-sentence or even go to prison.”
Three Utah County attorneys who talked with ABC 4 say the law is too soft on illegal alien drug dealers.
About every two or three months they see a light sentenced handed out, because it includes deportation.
They’d like to see a mandatory sentence of at least two years in prison if a person is guilty of possessing a pound or more of meth or heroine.
