Canada man sentenced in Omaha for having boxes of cocaine in rental car

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Below is a roundup of sentences recently handed down in federal court in Omaha, according to updates from acting U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr.

The acting U.S. Attorney’s office in Omaha reminds the public that there is no parole in the federal system.

Christopher Frater, 30, of Ontario, Canada, was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 14, for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. Frater was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

In July of 2022, Omaha Police officers observed a 2021 Nissan Maxima with Virginia plates commit several traffic violations along Interstate 80 in Sarpy County. Officers performed a traffic stop on the vehicle. They learned Frater was driving a rental car one way from Los Angeles to New York.

Frater made inconsistent statements about the purpose and timing of his travel, raising the officer’s suspicions. A K9 search of the car revealed the presence of narcotics in the car. Officers found three Home Depot boxes containing over 125 pounds of laboratory-confirmed cocaine.

Jarrett Chappelear, 26, of Fremont, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 15, for distributing methamphetamine while possessing a firearm. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison -- eight years for the distribution charge, and five years for the firearm possession charge. After Chappelear’s prison term is complete, he will serve four years of supervised release.

The Nebraska State Patrol utilized a confidential informant to purchase 1,245 grams of pure meth from Chappelear in Norfolk in October of 2021. Shortly after the controlled buy, troopers stopped him driving away. Chappelear was found to be in possession of a 9mm handgun with two spare magazines of ammunition.

Lorenzo Gonzalez-Perez, 25, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 15, for his participation in a drug conspiracy involving meth and fentanyl. He was sentenced to ten years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Between August and November of 2021, Gonzalez-Perez agreed with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 50 grams of meth and over 100 grams of fentanyl. Five co-defendants were previously sentenced; two more are set to go to trial Sept. 25. The eighth co-defendant is set to be sentenced Oct. 12.

James Williams, 50, of Omaha, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 15, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.

Williams met with a cooperating witness working with law enforcement in April of 2021. He sold 3.6 grams of cocaine, along with a .22 caliber rifle and a .38 caliber revolver. The transaction, which was recorded, occurred inside the garage of an Omaha home.

Sire English, 31, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 15, for failing to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced to 30 months in the Bureau of Prisons, followed by five years of supervised release.

English was convicted of child enticement in Iowa in March of 2012; he had been sentenced to two years of probation and required to register pursuant to federal law. Records show English did register as a sex offender in Iowa in August of 2022, listing a Council Bluffs apartment as his address.

He had additionally been convicted of a SORNA law felony in Nebraska in October of 2018; at that time, he served 15 months in prison and began five years of supervised release.

In October of 2022, English was arrested on a federal warrant for violating his terms of release from the prior case. The U.S. Marshals Service found English was living at an apartment on Hamilton Street in Omaha; it was confirmed he had been living in Omaha since April of that year and left his Council Bluffs apartment in December of 2021.

English did not register or attempt to register, nor did he update his registration to show he was living in Omaha between April and October 18, when he was arrested.