MOBILE, AL – On April 25, 2022, United States District Court Chief Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock sentenced Esmeralda Vidana to ten years imprisonment for methamphetamine trafficking.
According to court documents during an investigation of drug trafficking, on October 1, 2019, a known drug trafficker, Jose Eduardo Bravo Rodriguez, was surveilled by law enforcement agents leaving Vidana’s home in Summerdale. Alabama. Agents later performed a traffic stop of Rodriguez and caught him with one ounce of methamphetamine. Rodriguez was prosecuted by the United States in a separate drug trafficking case.
Agents next visited Vidana to speak to her. During the conversation Vidana confessed that she possessed a large amount of methamphetamine in her home that she was selling. Agents recovered approximately 680 grams of methamphetamine. Vidana further confessed that the drugs came from a larger batch of 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine that she had previously obtained and had been selling. Vidana plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in September 2021.
In addition to the ten-year sentence, United States District Court Chief Judge Jeffery Beaverstock further ordered that Vidana would also serve five years on supervised release following her imprisonment. As conditions of her supervision, Vidana will also undergo testing and treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse, and she will be subject to a search of her person and premises upon reasonable suspicion. No fine was imposed but the judge ordered that Vidana pay $100 in special assessments.
United States Attorney Sean P. Costello stated: “This case is yet another great example of effective coordination between federal and state law enforcement to stop drug trafficking in the Southern District of Alabama. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute these cases vigorously.”
The case was investigated the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George May prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.