RENO, Nev. - Victor H. Orozco, 40, of Grandview, Wash., was sentenced on July 20 by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du to 16 years in prison and five years of supervised release for possessing with the intent to distribute more than 24 pounds of methamphetamine and heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Orozco, a licensed commercial truck driver, was operating a tractor trailer carrying a load of watermelons through White Pine County, Nev., on April 27, 2013, when he was pulled over by a Nevada Highway Patrol Officer for a commercial vehicle inspection. Orozco consented to a search of the tractor trailer, and the Highway Patrol Officer discovered more than 19½ pounds of methamphetamine and 4½ pounds of heroin meticulously-wrapped in multiple layers of plastic in a black duffel bag under the sleeping compartment of the tractor.
Orozco was arrested, and the case proceeded to a jury trial earlier this year. According to expert testimony at trial, the street value of the drugs was more than one-half million dollars. On Feb. 24, 2015, Orozco was convicted by the jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James E. Keller and Carla Higginbotham, with assistance from the White Pine County District Attorney’s Office, and investigated by White Pine County-based members of Nevada Department of Public Safety and Nevada Department of Investigations, and by the DEA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
