Lee County Man Sentenced For Drug And Gun Offenses

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Pascual Francisco, Jr. (26, Fort Myers) to nine years and three months in federal prison for distributing a controlled substance, carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and possessing a machinegun. Francisco pleaded guilty on September 16, 2024.

According to court records, over the course of several transactions in late-2023 and early-2024, Francisco sold an undercover law enforcement agent cocaine, fake Percocet pills laced with p-fluorofentanyl, an illegal machinegun, and an illegal machinegun conversion device. Francisco used a social media application to facilitate his drug and gun transactions prior to his arrest in this case. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

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.