Man sentenced to 15 years for distributing cocaine in Arlington

ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — A Philadelphia man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for traveling across state lines to distribute cocaine in Arlington, according to the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Antonio Ortiz, 43, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine after having previously been convicted of a serious drug felony.

The USAO states that in September and October 2024, Ortiz arranged to sell two kilograms of cocaine in Arlington. Officers arrested Ortiz on Oct. 15 at one of the meet-up locations, where they searched his rental car and seized over 2,000 grams of cocaine.

Law enforcement in Philadelphia was notified and then searched his home, where they recovered an additional 3,000 grams of cocaine.

Court documents say Ortiz was on supervised release at the time of his arrest for a 2011 conviction.

Court documents say Ortiz had been previously convicted in 2002 and 2003 for distributing cocaine. He was also convicted in 2011 of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.