SIOUX CITY – Three men who conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Northwest Iowa and Southwest Minnesota were sentenced February 12, 2014, June 26, 2014, and July 8, 2014, to federal prison.
Jose Lopez, Jr., 25; Francisco Orozco-Padilla, 25; and Ricardo Camberos-Valle, 27, each received the prison terms after guilty pleas on October 23, 2013, December 20, 2013, and December 27, 2013, respectively, to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
At the guilty pleas, Lopez, Jr., Orozco-Padilla, and Camberos-Valle each admitted their involvement in a conspiracy from 2009 through May 2013 that distributed more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Lopez, Jr., Orozco-Padilla, and Camberos-Valle traveled to Wisconsin and Minnesota to obtain methamphetamine for later distribution in Iowa. On multiple occasions the three men distributed or aided and abetted each other in the distribution of methamphetamine to undercover officers.
Each were sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Lopez, Jr. was sentenced to 59 months’ imprisonment; Orozco-Padilla was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment; and Camberos-Valle was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. Lopez, Jr. must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Orozco-Padilla and Camberos-Valle must each also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Each must pay a $100 special assessment fee. There is no parole in the federal system. Each are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Spirit Lake Police Department.