SAN JOSE – LAWFUEL – Law News Network – United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced that Gustavo Aldaco-Elizarraraz was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for his role in possessing two kilograms of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. This sentence is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Salinas Police Department.
Mr. Aldaco pleaded guilty on April 3, 2006, without entering a plea agreement. During the entry of his guilty plea, he admitted that he had possessed a total of approximately two kilograms of methamphetamine in his apartment on Madrid Street in Salinas. He also admitted that he had been previously convicted of a felony drug crime. This increased the minimum sentence required by federal law for this amount of methamphetamine from ten years to 20 years.
Mr. Aldaco, 49, was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 8, 2004. He was charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge James Ware following a guilty plea to one count in violation of Title 21, United States Code, section 841(a)(1). Judge Ware also sentenced the defendant to a ten year period of supervised release. The defendant was in pretrial custody, so he will begin serving the sentence immediately.
Gary G. Fry is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 04-20158 JW
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.
