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Columbus Man Sentenced On Drug Dealing Charges

Last updated on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

(COLUMBUS) - 36-year-old Belsazar Rodriguez, of Columbus was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday. Rodriguez pleaded guilty in October to one count of dealing cocaine, a Class A felony, in exchange for prosecutors dropping another cocaine dealing and a methamphetamine charges.

Rodriguez did not testify at the sentencing hearing but his public defender, Daniel Schuetz, asked the judge take into consideration that Rodriguez had not been convicted of any crime before the dealing charge.

Michael DeArmitt, a Bartholomew County deputy prosecutor, told the judge a pre-sentence investigation report indicated that Rodriguez was deported from the U.S. in 2007 and re-entered the country illegally in 2008.

Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Stephen Heimann said he will notify federal authorities to have Rodriguez deported since he is not a legal resident of the U.S.

He also ordered that Rodriguez pay more than $5,000 in restitution for the cocaine deals.

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