Louis James Romero Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 13, 2012 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on December 12, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, LOUIS JAMES ROMERO, a 44-year-old resident of Seattle and Los Angeles, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 235 months
- Special assessment: $100
- Supervised release: six years
ROMERO was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Betley, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
During late November 2010, an individual identified here as X.X., approached ROMERO about devising a plan and agreement to distribute cocaine from Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington to Montana. ROMERO and X.X. found individuals in Montana to distribute and sell the cocaine in Browning and Great Falls.
In early 2011, ROMERO and X.X. began supplying and fronting a confidential source (CS) with cocaine to sell in Montana. The CS was instructed by ROMERO and X.X. to return the payments from the sale of the cocaine to them. From approximately January through May of 2011, a detectable amount of cocaine was distributed in Browning and Great Falls under the direction of ROMERO and X.X.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the “truth in sentencing” guidelines mandate that ROMERO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ROMERO 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 conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force.