Three Mexican Citizens Plead Guilty to the Distribution of a Large Quantity of Methamphetamine

GREENEVILLE, TN—Arnoldo Ayala Guevara Cazarez, 48; Jose Cruz Guevara Cazarez, 56; and Habraham Enrique Guevara, 21, pleaded guilty on June 5, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville to charges in a February 2012 indictment relating to the distribution of methamphetamine. All three are not legally present in the United States and face possible removal.

Sentencing is set for December 10, 2012 in U.S. District Court in Greeneville. They remain in federal custody, where they have been since their arrest in January 2012. They each face a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and a maximum term of life in prison, a fine of $10 million, at least five years and up to life on supervised release, and mandatory assessments of $100 each.

According to records on file with the U.S. District Court, in January 2012, Arnoldo Cazarez arranged for the transport of more than four pounds of methamphetamine from Oklahoma to Limestone, Tennessee. His brother Jose Cazarez and his nephew Enrique Guevara conspired with him to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute the methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers conducted an undercover operation which resulted in the seizure of four pounds of methamphetamine and a firearm at a rural home in Limestone, Tennessee. Four pounds is the second largest quantity of methamphetamine seized by law enforcement officers in upper East Tennessee.

Investigative agencies involved with this case were the First Judicial District Drug Task Force; Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office; Johnson City Police Department, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Homeland Security Investigations of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Helen Smith and Wayne Taylor represented the United States.