SAN FRANCISCO - A federal grand jury in the Northern District of California indicted 21 year-old Naomi Antunez yesterday for possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Antunez, a resident of Winston-Salem, N.C., is alleged to have brought almost 11 pounds of methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico on a commercial flight. The complaint alleges that the drugs were concealed inside a piece of wood furniture in Antunez’s luggage. Alert officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol discovered the drugs during Antunez’s entry into the United States at San Francisco International airport on Dec. 13, 2012.
Antunez was charged by complaint on Dec. 13, 2012. A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment on Jan. 17, 2013. Antunez appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler and pleaded not guilty to the felony drug trafficking charge. She is next scheduled to appear in federal court on March 6, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen.
Antunez faces 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine for violating Title 21 of the United Sates Code, sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(viii). However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security’s Investigations division.
Please note: an indictment contains only allegations against an individual, and as with all defendants, Antunez must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
