Two Idaho Falls Men Sentenced for Violating Federal Drug Laws

POCATELLO—Saul Arellano-Alvarado, 41, and Jaime Meza-Gonzalez, 47, both of Idaho Falls, were sentenced today in United States District Court in Pocatello on charges related to methamphetamine trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson. Arellano-Alvarado was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distributing five grams or more of methamphetamine. Meza-Gonzalez was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, aiding, and abetting. Both appeared before Judge N. Randy Smith of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by special designation as a district court judge.

Arellano-Alvarado and Meza-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the charges on September 25, 2013. According to the plea agreements, on November 16, 2010, an individual contacted Meza-Gonzalez for the purpose of purchasing methamphetamine. Meza-Gonzalez directed the individual to Arellano-Alvarado. The next day Arellano-Alvarado made arrangements to distribute methamphetamine to the individual at a parking lot in Idaho Falls, and subsequently sold the person in excess of five grams of methamphetamine.

The third defendant, Roberto Carlos Camarena, 25, of Sugar City, Idaho, is a fugitive. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Idaho State Police, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Rexburg Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Other federal agencies participating in the OCDETF program include the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.