San Jose Man Sentenced To Seven Years For Trafficking Methamphetamine

OAKLAND – Ramiro Velasco Jr. was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. 

Velasco, 33, a resident of San Jose, pleaded guilty on January 12, 2023. According to his plea agreement, Velasco attended a meeting in October 2020 of the San Jose Grande (SJG). SJG is a Norteño street gang formed in San Jose in the 1990s and comprised of dozens of members operating in San Jose and within custodial facilities, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum. 
 
Velasco described in his plea agreement that he discussed the sale of crystal methamphetamine with a potential buyer who also attended the SJG meeting. Velasco quoted a sales price of approximately $3,000 for a pound, which the buyer found acceptable. Over the next several days, Velasco made phone calls and sent text messages to broker the sale of methamphetamine to the buyer. Once he arranged the deal with a source of supply of the methamphetamine, Velasco advised the buyer, “Don’t trip he is good people, he is my peoples.” The sale that Velasco brokered occurred October 30, 2020, when the source of supply sold almost two pounds of nearly pure methamphetamine to the buyer for $3,200, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum.

In addition to the 84 months imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Gonzalez Rogers ordered Velasco to serve four years of supervision following his release from prison. Velasco was in custody at the sentencing hearing and began serving his sentence immediately. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel N. Kassabian and Christoffer Lee, with the assistance of Nina Burney and Veronica Hernandez. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Santa Clara County Violent Gang Task Force, with the assistance of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, and the San Jose Police Department.