Free Yemen Eye –<\/p>\n
Department of Justice
\nU.S. Attorney’s Office
\nNorthern District of Texas<\/p>\n
Thirty-four members of a methamphetamine ring that operated in the Dimmitt, Texas area have been sentenced to a combined 364 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.<\/p>\n
The majority were charged in a 38-count federal indictment filed in February 2020, then arrested during a large-scale takedown in March 2020. The FBI\u2019s Dallas Field Office, which led the bust, dubbed it Operation Tierra de Hielo, or \u201cOperation Land of Ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first defendant to plead guilty, Denita Mirelez, 48, entered her plea on August 19, 2020, admitting that she and a co-conspirator sold several ounces of meth to an FBI informant. She was later sentenced to 97 months in federal prison. The final defendant to plead guilty, Johnny Gilbert Lopez, aka \u201cCannon,\u201d 55, entered his plea 19 months later, on March 21, 2022. He also admitted that he sold meth to an informant and was sentenced yesterday to 100 months in federal prison.<\/p>\n
The remaining defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows:<\/p>\n
Jesus Garcia, aka \u201cDon Chuy,\u201d 60
\nPleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; sentenced on May 18, 2021 to 300 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Noel Mandujano, 50
\nPleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 20, 2021 to 360 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Robert Vera, 51
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Osvaldo Cortez, aka \u201cLito,\u201d 41
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on April 8, 2021 to 135 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Gustavo Rincon, aka \u201cTavo,\u201d 45
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 17, 2021 to 210 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Ricky Dale Leavitt, aka \u201cBig Rick,\u201d 48
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 13, 2021 to 97 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Tyler Martin Miller, 32
\nPleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on July 7, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Robert \u201cRoberto\u201d Flores, 46
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on May 25, 2021 to 235 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Tiffany Darlene Haner, 38
\nPleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Michael \u201cMike\u201d Diaz, 48
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on June 2, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Rigoberto Cuevas, aka \u201cRigo,\u201d 43
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Johnny Ortiz, aka \u201cJohnny O,\u201d 44
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 240 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Kristina Renee Chaparro, aka \u201cYebra,\u201d 36
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021 to 132 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Michael Reyes, aka \u201cRat,\u201d 44
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on May 11, 2021 to 120 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Juan Arturo Martinez, 44
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 52 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Steven Mendez, 39
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28, 2021 to 210 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Frank \u201cFrankie\u201d Martinez, 39
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Nov. 19, 2021 to 139 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Katrina Casas, 37,
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 28. 2021 to 40 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Ricardo Reyes, Jr., aka \u201cLittle Ricky,\u201d 35
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 14, 2021 to 124 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Roxanne Casas, 39
\nPleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 51 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Cruz Mendez Nunez, 58
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on June 2, 2021 to 92 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Christopher Allen Smith, aka \u201cSmitty,\u201d 35
\nPleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 55 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Juan Manuel Martinez, aka \u201cMitos,\u201d 45
\nPleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Feb. 25, 2021 to 115 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Melenie Arceo, 24,
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 26, 2021 to 108 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Luis Alberto \u201cTito\u201d Gonzalez, 40
\nPleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm; sentenced on Feb. 17, 2021 to 77 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Priscilla Kay Caballero, 37
\nPleaded guilty to unlawful use of a communications facility; sentenced on May 25, 2021 to 48 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Susan Odette Stinnett, 34
\nPleaded guilty to unlawful use of a communications facility; sentenced on Feb. 4, 2021 to 48 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
John David Ramirez, 43
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 12, 2021 to 33 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Christian Daniel Cordova, 30
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced to on Jan. 28, 2021 to 84 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Ricardo Chavez, aka \u201cKK,\u201d 42
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 12, 2021 to 188 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Servian Riojas, aka \u201cSmokey,\u201d 41
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on Jan. 20, 2021 to 151 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
Leonardo \u201cLeo\u201d Ortuno-Palacios, 53
\nPleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; sentenced on September 30, 2021 to 240 months in federal prison<\/p>\n
“This investigation was a massive undertaking and a true partnership between local, state and federal agencies. We dismantled the entire organization, from out-of-state leadership, to West Texas leaders, suppliers and distributors,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. \u201cThe collective sentences imposed on the dozens of defendants will have a lasting impact on the community as we continue to work to keep our communities free from the social, criminal and community health damages caused by methamphetamine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s Dallas Field Office; the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s Dallas Field Division; the U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives\u2019 Dallas Field Division; ICE \u2013 Enforcement & Removal Operations; the Castro County Sheriff’s Office; the Hereford Police Department; Texas Department of Safety; the Amarillo Police Department; the Dimmitt Police Department; the Randall County Sheriff’s Office; the Lubbock Police Department; the Potter County Sheriff’s Office; the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office; and the Plainview Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuting the case.<\/p>\n
This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/OCDETF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Free Yemen Eye – Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Texas Thirty-four members of a methamphetamine ring that operated in the Dimmitt, Texas area have been sentenced to a combined 364 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. The majority were charged in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":86061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diverse-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/86061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}