WICHITA FALLS, Texas- Three defendants, who pleaded guilty in late August 2013 to their respective roles in a major methamphetamine distribution conspiracy operating in Wichita Falls, Texas, were sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Chance Terrell Dotson, 35, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison; Heather Michelle Douglas, 33, was sentenced to 180 months; and Paula Aimee Vazquez, 40, was sentenced to 84 months.
According to documents filed in the cases, Dotson admitted that on numerous occasions from October 2010 to June 2012, he purchased pseudoephedrine tablets to use in manufacturing methamphetamine from numerous Walmart stores in the Houston area. He further admitted that he purchased pseudoephedrine from as many as 17 different Walmart stores in a single day and arranged to sell the pseudoephedrine to co-defendant Steve Ysasaga and others. Sometimes Ysasaga drove to Houston to obtain the pseudoephedrine from Dotson; other times Dotson transported the tablets to Wichita Falls. Dotson admitted purchasing 286 boxes of pseudoephedrine during the course of the conspiracy.
Douglas and Vazquez admitted that on multiple occasions between November 2011 and August 2012, they distributed quantities of methamphetamine to customers in the Wichita Falls area. Co-conspirators supplied them with the methamphetamine. Douglas also admitted she facilitated the manufacture of methamphetamine by purchasing pseudoephedrine tablets from various individuals. In turn, Douglas sold those tablets knowing they would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Douglas and Vazquez also helped facilitate the May 13, 2012, beating of an individual in retaliation for that individual’s suspected theft of money and drugs.
To date, 38 of the 39 defendants charged in this conspiracy have entered guilty pleas; a total of 32 defendants have been sentenced. The case against one defendant has not been resolved.
Paragraph Seven.
This Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas DPS; and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
