SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Maria Cervantes-Echevarria, 35, a Mexican national living in Los Molinos, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley, to eight years and nine months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Cervantes-Echevarria pleaded guilty in May 2019. According to court records, federal agents began investigating Cervantes-Echevarria and co-defendant Miguel Cervantes in 2017 for suspected methamphetamine trafficking in Shasta and Tehama Counties. In August and September 2018, an undercover agent purchased over 3 pounds of methamphetamine from Cervantes during three controlled buys. In addition, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at Cervantes-Echevarria’s and co-defendant Marta Jiminez Lopez’s home in September 2018, they seized approximately 34 pounds of methamphetamine, 3 pounds of heroin, three firearms, and over $44,000 in cash.
Cervantes and Lopez, both Mexican nationals living in Los Molinos, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Cervantes was sentenced to nine years in prison in February 2020. Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2022.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement (TIDE) task force, and the Siskiyou Unified Major Investigations Team (SUMIT), with special assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow is prosecuting the case.