POCATELLO – U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that seven defendants
pleaded guilty to methamphetamine distribution charges this week in United
States District Court in Pocatello. The defendants were charged in two
separate indictments.
Juan Carlos Garcia, 35, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, pleaded guilty on Monday to
conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
Co-defendant Benito Vasquez Joya, 58, of Rigby Idaho, pleaded guilty to
possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual
methamphetamine.
Fausto Enrique Urias, 32, and Erica Rodriguez, 33, both of Idaho Falls, pleaded
guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual
methamphetamine. Misty Chapman, 29, of Idaho Falls, pleaded guilty to
distribution of methamphetamine.
Garcia, Joya, Urias, Chapman and Rodriguez are scheduled to be sentenced on
October 23, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the
federal courthouse in Pocatello.
According to plea agreements filed in the case, between November 2009 and
October 23, 2012, Urias and Garcia conspired to possess and distribute
methamphetamine to other individuals in the Idaho Falls area. Urias and
Garcia were previously convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance
in Bonneville County, Idaho, on November 9, 2004, and June 7, 2005,
respectively.
Co-conspirator Marco Antonio Echeverria, 25, of Idaho
Falls, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea to related drug charges on
August 29, 2013.
In a separate case, Josue Rodriguez-Sanchez, 25, and Julian Vega-Valdez, 25,
both of Idaho Falls, pleaded guilty on Wednesday. Rodriguez-Sanchez
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or
more of actual methamphetamine; Vega-Valdez pleaded guilty to distribution of
five grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Sentencing is set for
November 18, 2013, in Pocatello. Co-defendant Fernando Garcia, 31, of
Logan, Utah, is scheduled to plead guilty on August 29, 2013.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of actual
methamphetamine carries a minimum term of 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of
$20 million, and at least 10 years of supervised release. The charge of
distribution of methamphetamine carries a minimum term of 10 years in prison, a
fine of up to $10 million, and at least five years of supervised release.
Possession of methamphetamine is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine
of up to $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release.
Distribution of methamphetamine is punishable by at least five years in prison,
a maximum fine of $5 million, and at least four years of supervised release.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Idaho State Police, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI), Bonneville County Sheriff's Office, Idaho Falls Police Department,
Madison County Sheriff's Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County
Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Other federal
agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement
Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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.
