WEST WARWICK, RI — A West Warwick couple pleaded no contest to gun, drug and child cruelty charges, police said.
Cecelia Gallucci, 37, was sentenced to two and a half years of home confinement. Gallucci pleaded to charges including controlled substance conspiracy, child endangerment, cruelty to or neglect of a child, and possession of a controlled substance, the West Warwick Police Department said in a media release.
Julio Rivera, 36, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Rivera pleaded to charges including possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm while committing a controlled substance violation, possession of firearms by a person convicted of a crime of violence, possession of a stolen firearm, distribution near a school, drug conspiracy, child endangerment, and receiving stolen goods valued in excess of $10,000, the release said.
Gallucci and Rivera were arrested in 2024 following a months-long joint investigation conducted by the West Warwick Police Department Special Investigation Unit and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the release.
"Investigators seized distribution quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana, along with packaging materials commonly associated with narcotics trafficking and U.S. currency believed to be proceeds from illegal drug sales," the release said.
"At the time of the search, the couple's child was present inside the residence," according to the release. "The child was transported to Hasbro Children's Hospital for evaluation, where testing revealed exposure to both cocaine and fentanyl. The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families ... subsequently took custody of the child."
After Gallucci and Rivera were arrested, police searched three of their storage units and found marijuana, suspected controlled substances, five firearms, a ghost gun, a stolen firearm, a firearm with altered identifying marks and a prohibited large-capacity magazine, per the release.
"Rivera was subsequently charged with multiple additional firearms and narcotics offenses," the release said.
Yet another search, this time at a rental garage in Glocester, turned up a "landscape dump trailer reported stolen from Massachusetts and a towable mobile home reported stolen from New York," according to the release.
"Rivera was additionally charged by the Glocester Police Department with two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle," the release said.
See also:
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
West Warwick Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.