PHOENIX - On June 18, 2018, Patricia Calderon-Monarrez, 47, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 60 months in prison. Calderon-Monarrez had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Calderon-Monarrez does not have legal status in the United States and is subject to removal from the United States when she is released from prison.
On Oct. 5, 2017, federal agents approached Calderon-Monarrez in a parking lot while conducting an investigation into a Phoenix-based drug trafficking organization. A subsequent search of Calderon-Monarrez revealed a loaded firearm and ammunition in her purse. When agents searched the vehicle Calderon-Monarrez arrived in, they located more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than $500,000, multiple brick-shaped packages containing more than nine pounds of cocaine with a street value of almost $100,000, and a backpack containing more than $64,000 in cash.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Glendale Police Department, with assistance from the Phoenix Police Department, as part an operation supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The prosecution was handled by Matthew Binford, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-1353-PHX-DLR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2018-088_Calderon-Monarrez
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
