A Rockford, Illinois, woman was sentenced March 6 in federal court to two years in prison for her role in a drug trafficking organization that attempted to bring 30 kilograms of cocaine to the Green Bay area.
Sanjuana Montenegro Ochoa pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. She was the third of four defendants to be sentenced in connection to the organization.
Ruben Salgado-Espinoza and Pablo and Pedro Sifuentes Navarro pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge. Salgado-Espinoza also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of illegally reentering the country after being deported.
Salgado-Espinoza and Pablo and Pedro Sifuentes Navarro were arrested by Drug Enforcement Administration agents April 22 after traveling to Green Bay from Rockford, Illinois, with 30 kilograms of cocaine, according to a plea agreement. The cocaine was hidden in a trap built inside a vehicle.
The seizure was the largest cocaine seizure in the history of the DEA’s Green Bay division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Duros said at the March 5 sentencings of the Sifuentes Navarro brothers. The brothers were both sentenced to six years in prison.
The government had zero evidence Montenegro Ochoa played any role in the 30 kilogram cocaine delivery, Duros said. However, Duros said, she was still an “active participant” in the organization led by Salgado-Espinoza.
Montenegro Ochoa traveled to Green Bay with Pablo Sifuentes Navarro, her boyfriend, when he completed a one kilogram cocaine deal prior to the attempted 30 kilogram deal, according to a plea agreement. She spoke with an undercover agent and said the group could provide him with 15 kilograms of cocaine, the agreement said.
Montenegro was also involved in distributing one pound of methamphetamine in a delivery coordinated by Pedro Sifuentes Navarro and Salgado-Espinoza, the plea agreement said.
Duros said Montenegro Ochoa was “by far, without a doubt, the least culpable” of all four charged defendants.
Because of the limited role she played, Duros recommended a three-year prison sentence, half of what Pedro and Pablo Sifuentes Navarro received. Defense attorney Erik Maciolek asked U.S. District Court Judge Byron Conway to consider a one year and one day sentence, which would essentially be time-served.
Conway said a time-served sentence couldn’t be justified based on the significance of the overall conspiracy. Considering the limited and brief role Montenegro Ochoa played, as well as her lack of a criminal record, Conway sentenced her to two years in prison followed by five years on supervised release.
How much is 30 kilograms of cocaine?
According to Duros, 1 kilogram of cocaine is equivalent to 1,000 street-level deals. The typical street dose is 1 to 5 grams, Duros said.
The drugs seized in this operation were pure cocaine, Duros said, which would typically be diluted or cut before being sold. Even before dilution, the seized cocaine would have constituted around 30,000 street-level deals, Duros said.
“This level of cocaine would support a dealers’ distribution habits for months and months and months,” Duros said. “It would have fueled an enormous downstream distribution.”
Judge says deportation is harshest punishment
Montenegro Ochoa came to the United States when she was two-years-old and has been living in the country legally under DACA, Maciolek said. She has no criminal record, had a job before her arrest and was on track to get a degree in nursing, according to her attorney.
Montenegro Ochoa met Pablo Sifuentes Navarro in a grocery store and began a relationship with him, Maciolek said, which is how she became involved in Salgado-Espinoza’s organization. Before meeting Pablo, Maciolek said, Montenegro Ochoa had never been involved with drugs or gotten in any trouble.
It didn’t appear that Salgado-Espinoza planned to pay Montenegro Ochoa any money for her role in the drug trafficking, Maciolek said.
“She, to some extent, was used by people in this situation,” Maciolek said.
Conway agreed there was no indication Montenegro Ochoa “even profited a dime from this.” He said he was confident Montenegro Ochoa would be deported after serving her sentence and asked her whether she had any family in Mexico.
“I don’t know where I would go,” Montenegro Ochoa said.
Montenegro Ochoa was well-educated, had lived her whole life in the country legally and had a job with plans for her future, Conway said. “Now that’s all thrown away,” he said.
“That’s a harsher punishment than I could ever deal out to you,” Conway said.
Vivian Barrett is the public safety reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach her at vmbarrett@usatodayco.com or (920) 431-8314.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Woman sentenced for role in attempted cocaine delivery to Green Bay
Reporting by Vivian Barrett, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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