Florida men plead guilty to drug, gun charges

FLORIDA – Members of an alleged drug-trafficking conspiracy have pleaded guilty to drug and gun charges in an operation dubbed “Titan Fall,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Carlos Alberto Roman, 56, of Orlando, has pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances and possessing a firearm equipped with a silencer in furtherance of that drug crime. Roman faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years, up to life, in federal prison, the USAO said.

According to the USAO announcement, coconspirators James Richard Howell, 37, of Silver Springs, and Kenneth Angel Vera, 31, of Orlando, pleaded guilty on December 5 and December 6, 2022, respectively, to their roles in the drug conspiracy with Roman.

A final coconspirator, Joely Manuel Burgos, 39, of Orlando, is scheduled for trial on January 17, 2023, the USAO said.

According to the USAO, on August 9, 2022, 13 individuals were charged in two indictments in Operation “Titan Fall,” a multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) investigation. Roman was charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in a four-person indictment along with Howell, Burgos, and Vera.

On August 31, 2022, a superseding indictment charged Roman with six additional counts of drug possession, possession of a firearm equipped with a silencer in furtherance of drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosive grenades by a convicted felon, and unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, pistols with vertical foregrips, and silencers, the USAO said.

According to the plea agreement, Roman supplied cocaine and fentanyl to Howell, Burgos, and Vera for resale and regularly communicated with each of them. On August 9, 2022, Roman was arrested at his home with 19 firearms, six silencers, three flash-bang grenades, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Florida Highway Patrol, Winter Garden Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Office,  Kissimmee Police Department, Winter Park Police Department, Clermont Police Department, Orlando Police Department, Apopka Police Department, Ocoee Police Department, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Operation Titan Fall is a multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.