Two Sentenced for Meth Distribution

POCATELLO – Co-defendants Anthony Juarez, 31, of Nampa, Idaho, and Jose Juarez, 33, of Rupert, Idaho, were sentenced this week in United States District Court for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Anthony Juarez to 76 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. Jose Juarez was sentenced to 72 months, followed by three years of supervised release and a $300 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on March 10, 2014.

According to the plea agreements, on July 24, 2013, Anthony Juarez agreed to meet with an undercover officer in Burley, Idaho, where it was agreed methamphetamine would be sold to the undercover officer. Later that day, Jose Juarez drove Anthony Juarez and a codefendant to the meeting with the undercover officer at a restaurant in Burley, Idaho. At the meeting, the undercover officer was sold six ounces of methamphetamine.

The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, in conjunction with, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Canyon County Narcotics Unit, Meridian Police Department, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho State Police, and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.