Carpentersville man sentenced to 18 years on cocaine conviction

A Carpentersville man, who authorities said has ties to a Mexican drug cartel, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Wednesday for his connection to 16,000 grams of cocaine with a street value of $1.6 million allegedly stored in a warehouse in Lake in the Hills.

In October, Juan F. Sanchez-Cacho, 44, (who also goes by the name Francisco Sanchez-Cacho), was found guilty of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and possession of a controlled substance after a bench trial in front of Judge Michael Coppedge.

Before the sentencing hearing his defense attorney, Special Public Defender Thomas Carroll, argued a post-conviction motion. He said there was reasonable doubt and asked for a new trial.

Carroll said when Sanchez-Cacho was arrested Sept. 20, 2018, after a large-scale investigation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Chicago Police Department, Lake in the Hills Police Department and Kane County Sheriff's Office, he had no keys to the warehouse, no drugs or money on his person, nor did he have any phone numbers in his cellphone linking him to drug deals or the undercover officers involved in the investigation.

He also took issue with a meeting that occurred about a month before the arrest between Sanchez-Cacho, Ivan Moreno-Gallegos and an undercover Chicago police officer.