JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Sedalia, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for distributing methamphetamine.
Arnulfo Alejandro Lopez, 36, of Sedalia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to seven years in federal prison without parole.
On Oct. 6, 2015, Lopez pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine.
On Sept. 26, 2014, Lopez sold one ounce of methamphetamine for $1,200 to a confidential informant who was working with an undercover Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. The informant told law enforcement officers that Lopez, who was on probation for a state drug trafficking conviction, was selling methamphetamine on a regular basis. The informant called Lopez and asked to purchase methamphetamine for a good friend. The informant and the undercover officer then met Lopez at a hotel parking lot in Sedalia for the transaction.
The confidential informant told officers that, during a three-month period earlier that year, s/he had purchased 1 to 2 ounces of methamphetamine two or three times a week from Lopez. The informant also told investigators that s/he had seen two firearms in Lopez’s possession.
Lopez had two addresses in Sedalia - one residence where he lived with his wife and children, and another residence where he stored drugs and a firearm. The informant told officers that s/he had purchased 3.5 grams of methamphetamine from Lopez a week prior, and at that time had seen bricks of marijuana in the stash house.
Lopez was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 10, 2015.
On June 11, 2015, officers saw Lopez leave his stash house and travel to a hotel. They arrested him at the hotel on a federal arrest warrant. Inside Lopez’s car, officers found a.22-caliber revolver, approximately 5.4 pounds of marijuana, and $4,459. Officers executed a search warrant at the stash house and found more drugs; specifically, six bags containing methamphetamine in various amounts (10.2 grams, 26 grams,.25 grams,.8 grams, 1.4 grams and 3.5 grams). They also recovered a bag containing 11.2 grams of cocaine, two digital scales, a.22-caliber Marlin rifle, ammunition and $720.
Based on the amount of drugs seized, and the informant’s statements regarding the amounts of methamphetamine s/he had purchased, Lopez is accountable for at least 24 ounces of methamphetamine. An additional 4.2 ounces of methamphetamine can be included by converting the amount of cash seized to methamphetamine, so Lopez is responsible for a total of 28.2 ounces of methamphetamine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
