Ismael Robles Zamora Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 12, 2012 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings on December 12, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Ismael Robles Zamora, a 27-year-old resident of Billings, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 125 months
- Special assessment: $100
- Supervised release: four years
Zamora was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to distribution of methamphetamine.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On December 8, 2011, members of the Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force (BSSSTF), along with members of the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (EMHIDTA), conducted a controlled drug purchase using a confidential informant (CI). The CI stated Z.Z. could purchase one ounce of methamphetamine for $2,300 from a Hispanic male that goes by the name Ramiro. The CI arranged to meet Z.Z. at a casino in downtown Billings. The CI and Z.Z. then met with Ramiro inside the casino. All three subjects left the casino and got into a vehicle driven by Z.Z., traveled a short distance, and then met with another subject driving a Jeep, who was the source. Ramiro got out of Z.Z.’s vehicle and got into the Jeep. Ramiro then returned to Z.Z.’s vehicle and placed a plastic baggie that contained the methamphetamine inside Z.Z.’s vehicle and said, “All there, it’s all weighed.” The CI handed Ramiro $2,300 for the drugs, and they parted ways.
The methamphetamine was analyzed by the DEA Laboratory and found to weigh 26.4 grams with 63.8 percent purity.
Agents later identified Ramiro as being Zamora.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that Zamora will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Zamora does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for “good behavior.” However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.