MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Abel Eduardo Cristerna-Gonzalez, age 27, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced on Feb. 27, 2019, to 188 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine and for Possession With Intent To Distribute Heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1); 841(b)(1)(A); 841(b)(1)(B); and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. The defendant’s jury trial began with testimony on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 and concluded on Thursday, August 9, 2018 with a guilty verdict. The verdict and sentence obtained was the result of an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Sentencing occurred following the completion of a pre-sentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office.
Evidence at trial proved that on April 24, 2018, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper stopped a vehicle for traveling in excess of the speed limit on I-40 in Okmulgee County. The vehicle was driven by Luis Lopez Arce and Cristerna-Gonzalez was a passenger. Following routine questioning and further investigation, methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and heroin, a Schedule I controlled substance were located in the vehicle. Additionally, evidence proved that the methamphetamine in the vehicle weighed 50 grams or more and the heroin 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing heroin. The jury found that Cristerna-Gonzalez - the defendant on trial - knowingly and intentionally possessed the methamphetamine and heroin with the intent to distribute them.
“Drug trafficking organizations distribute their poison to towns and cities across our country. The people that transport these drugs and deliver them to their intended distribution points are an integral part of the business model these organizations utilize to make huge profits while the rest of society pays the price. This investigation and prosecution of the defendant disrupted a drug trafficking organization which is a Department of Justice priority," United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said. “The members of this office will continue to work with our state, local, tribal and federal law enforcement partners to combat the distribution of dangerous drugs which has had such a devastating impact across the nation."
The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Rob Wallace represented the United States. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-paroleable sentence will be served.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
