Pubdate: Sat, 03 Feb 2007
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2007 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author:  Stephanie Slater, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

2 OF 3 MEN SENTENCED IN COCAINE RACKET GET LIFE

Two Jupiter men were sentenced to life in federal prison Thursday for 
their roles in a countywide cocaine distribution ring.

Their supplier, a Boynton Beach man, was sentenced to 20 years.

Winfred Lorenzo Hunt, 33, and Leonard Allen, Jr., 31, sold the 
narcotic from Delray Beach to Jupiter, with Hunt dealing about 2 
kilograms of crack cocaine and a kilogram of powder cocaine a week, 
according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Carlton Potts, 41, supplied Hunt with 2 to 3 kilograms of powder 
cocaine a week for more than 10 months. Hunt then turned the cocaine 
into crack cocaine and sold it on the streets of Delray Beach, officials said.

They were arrested along with 35 others in May in a massive sweep 
that included 450 officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Boynton 
Beach, Delray Beach and Jupiter police departments.

Sixteen of those arrested are serving sentences ranging from two to 
10 years, officials said.

Operation Magnum Force, the investigation leading to their 
convictions, spanned a year.

Hunt, considered a ringleader, had been arrested more than 25 times, 
according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. He was 
charged with several violent crimes, including shooting a 17-year-old 
in the abdomen, according to police records.

Allen had three prior convictions for selling cocaine, records show.

Potts' record includes 30 arrests on charges such as burglary, 
battery, drug sales and attempted murder.

"The investigation was in response to a community outcry for help," 
Delray Beach police Lt. Tommy Mitchell said. "It was a community 
effort involving law enforcement and the neighborhoods in which the 
drugs were being distributed."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman