A Port St. Lucie Man was charged with attempted importation and distribution of LSD and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Antonio J. Gomez, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division and Adolphus P. Wright, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, made the announcement.
Ralph Robert James Sergo, 24, of Port St. Lucie, is charged by criminal complaint with attempted importation and attempted distribution of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, also known as “LSD," a Schedule I controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 952, 963, 841(a)(1), 846; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c). If convicted, Sergo faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison for the narcotics offense and a mandatory consecutive 5 years to life term of imprisonment for possessing the firearm and ammunition in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Sergo had his initial appearance today before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr. in Ft. Pierce. Judge Lynch ordered Sergio be detained pending trial. The defendant’s arraignment is scheduled for February 1, 2017.
According to the court record, including the criminal complaint, on October 11, 2016, HSI agents intercepted an international mail parcel that was shipped from Denmark and addressed to Port Saint Lucie, Florida. A search of the parcel revealed a gift box. Hidden inside one of the skin cream jars in the box was a folded piece of paper and a small clear ziplock baggie, both containing a gray coarse powder substance, later confirmed to be LSD.
On January 17, 2017, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at a residence in Saint Lucie and discovered a small plastic bag, glass jars, containing a gray colored powder which field tested positive for the presence of LSD, and drug paraphernalia. During the execution of the search warrant, Sergo arrived at the residence in possession of a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber firearm.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement discovered U.S. Postal Service shipping receipts in Sergo’s vehicle, including one dated January 17, 2017, from the Stuart Florida Post Office. Law enforcement intercepted the outbound parcel and found it contained approximately 85 grams of an orange granular substance, which field tested positive for the presence of LSD.
The complaint alleges that Sergo gave a Mirandized statement, admitting that there were jars in the house that contained powder LSD, that he had mailed a package to Mexico, containing LSD, and that he had been expecting a package containing LSD from Denmark.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, USPIS, DEA and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Lineberger.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.