12 sent to prison in meth ring bust

Leader of 15-member ring to be sentenced in August

FORT SMITH -- Twelve members of a methamphetamine distribution ring were sentenced in federal court this week to prison terms as long as 20 years.

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Jose Mendez-Alvarado, the leader of the 15-member ring, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was caught June 17, 2015, smuggling 11 pounds of the drug into Fort Smith from California. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 17, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty in January to a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. His plea agreement showed he could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, Fort Smith Police Department, Sebastian County sheriff's office and the 12th Judicial District Drug Task Force, according to a news release Friday from the U.S. attorney's office.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Assam said in the news release the breakup and prosecution of the drug ring should warn others against dealing drugs in western Arkansas.

"We will continue to work together and pursue those who threaten our communities through the smuggling and distribution of illegal and dangerous drugs and bring them to justice," Assam said.

Two other key members of the organization, Armando Picazo, 30, and his wife, Maria D. Jesus Martinez, 33, both of Fort Smith, were sentenced to prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III. Picazo was sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Martinez was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In a separate case, according to the news release, Picazo worked with Ascencion Salas-Macias, 31, to smuggle six pounds of methamphetamine from California to Fort Smith in September. The drugs were seized and Salas-Macias was arrested.

Court records show that Holmes sentenced Salas-Macias on Thursday to 151 months in prison.

Facts in the plea agreement supporting Mendez-Alvarado's guilty plea said law enforcement in Fort Smith learned in November 2014 that Mendez-Alvarado and his organization were smuggling and distributing large quantities of methamphetamine.

Over the next five months, informants and undercover officers made six controlled purchases from the organization.

In April 2015, officers got an order from Holmes that allowed them to tap in on Mendez-Alvarado's cell phone conversations. Officers heard him make plans with Picazo and Martinez to drive to California on June 5, 2015, to pick up a shipment of methamphetamine and bring it back to Fort Smith.

An August 2015 Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit said that about 3 p.m. on June 17, 2015, a Fort Smith police officer pulled over a red Toyota driven by Mendez-Alvarado going 50 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed zone on Garrison Avenue in downtown Fort Smith.

Mendez-Alvarado told the officer he had just arrived in Fort Smith from California. The officer noticed Mendez-Alvarado's hands were shaking and he was taking deep breaths. Also, he had no luggage in the car and there was a bottle behind the driver seat containing what the officer believed to be urine.

Mendez-Alvarado allowed the officer to search the car. The affidavit said the officer noticed nonoriginal screws and tool marks in the dashboard. When he opened the glove box, he discovered a compartment containing 11 one-pound packages of methamphetamine.

Other members of the organization sentenced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Their names and sentences were:

Amber Nicole Cottrell, 28, of Fort Smith, 30 months; Casey Allen Cottrell, 31, of Fort Smith, 70 months; John Wayne Davis, 41, of Cabot, 51 months; Joseph Glenn Kutter, 31, of Van Buren, 70 months; Aris Orellana, 29, of Fort Smith, 46 months.

Erik Padilla, 35, of Oklahoma City, 87 months; Jose Quinones, 37, of Fort Smith, 24 months; Melinda Sue Quinones, 39, of Fort Smith, 24 months; Noel Ramirez-Osorio, 31, of Oklahoma City, 51 months.

Two others who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the case, Roxana Cardona and Jose Christian Lemus-Vanegas, did not have sentencing dates as of Thursday.

State Desk on 06/25/2016

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