BEAUMONT, Texas - A 37-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to prison for federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Adam Zermeno pleaded guilty on Jan. 6, 2017, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison on June 15, 2016 by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.
According to information presented in court, beginning in February 2016, undercover law enforcement officers purchased a total of 2 ½ ounces of methamphetamine from Zermeno, who was supplying methamphetamine in Houston and the Beaumont area. On Sep. 8, 2016, law enforcement officers in Jefferson County conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Zermeno. Zermeno was traveling with Gina Gongora and their two small children. A drug-detecting dog alerted on the vehicle during the traffic stop. A search of the vehicle revealed a bag in the trunk, which contained marijuana, cocaine, pills, crack cocaine, and 83.3 grams of methamphetamine. Gongora immediately claimed the bag belonged to her. Zermeno and Gongora were arrested and indicted on Nov. 2, 2016 by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking charges.
This case is the result of an extensive joint investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orange Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle S. Englade.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
