An Orange County man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison by a federal judge this week on a series of drug and firearm charges.

Federal officials said in a release that 38-year-old Roderick Lamar Sanford, of Cedar Grove, was sentenced on Tuesday after a guilty plea last August on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug related crime.

Federal authorities said Sanford was identified as a heroin distributer by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

“The defendant managed his drug organization by exploiting those closest to him through violence and by fueling their drug addictions,” US Attorney GT Martin said in a release.

Martin said that included Sanford providing heroin to his pregnant girlfriend.

The investigation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office showed evidence that Sanford “distributed personal-use quantities of drugs, in addition to supplying multiple mid-level drug traffickers.”

A search warrant was executed on his home in March 2018 resulting in the seizure of four firearms and more than 42 grams of a mixture containing Fentanyl, among other items seized.

“The Roderick Sanford heroin distribution organization was the first major case initiated by my Office under the Coordinated Opioid Overdose Response Effort, and we are very satisfied with the sentence imposed,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said in a release. “We will continue to identify, prioritize, and target the most significant violators within this community. My office is committed to partnering with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to make our community safer.”

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