N. Aurora man gets 10 years for selling cocaine
A 39-year-old North Aurora man was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for selling cocaine to an undercover cop in exchange for cigarettes, officials say.
Paul F. Benavides, of the 200 block of East Arrowhead Street, pleaded guilty March 31 to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, according to a news release from the Kane County state's attorney's office.
He will be credited 314 days served in the Kane County jail.
Benavides, who also goes by Francis Perez, is an Aurora gang member with a history of felony convictions, according to the release.
On May 2, 2014, in the 2000 block of Tall Oaks Drive, Aurora. Benavides traded 6.5 grams of cocaine and $800 in cash for 60 cartons of cigarettes, prosecutors said. The sale was part of a drug investigation, and buyer was an undercover officer.
During the trial, Benavides admitted to being a member of an Aurora street gang, according to the release. He received an enhanced sentence because of his criminal history, which includes a 1995 guilty plea for a felony gun conviction in DuPage County and a felony drug conviction out of La Salle County from 2009, prosecutors said.
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