John E. Childress Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana
Belarmino Sierra-Mata, a 47-year-old resident of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison. The sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release after Sierra-Mata pled guilty to charges of attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and reentry of a removed alien.
Court documents revealed that Sierra-Mata was involved in intercepting a package on March 18, 2024, after receiving a message from his girlfriend about its arrival at her home in Indianapolis. The package, shipped from California, contained about 1.8 kilograms of methamphetamine. Sierra-Mata subsequently delivered the package to another person in exchange for $300 from the original supplier.
Upon his arrest, Sierra-Mata informed law enforcement that his supplier was based in Mexico. This incident was not Sierra-Mata's first; he admitted it was his second time accepting such packages for payment.
Further investigations revealed that Sierra-Mata was in the United States illegally. He had been formally removed on January 11, 2019, but reentered unlawfully without the necessary documentation.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Indiana State Police conducted the investigation, and U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker imposed the sentence. John E. Childress, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, emphasized the necessity of prosecuting criminal aliens: "Criminal aliens that habitually cross into our country illegally and endanger our communities must face consequences."
The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Caraballo-Colon and former AUSA Jordan Oliver. Sierra-Mata's case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice addressing illegal immigration and organized crime.
