ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal jury convicted a Granite Falls man of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright, Ramon Diego Pacheco, 42, was convicted earlier this week of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.
According to the evidence presented at trial, in late 2018 law enforcement began investigating a methamphetamine trafficking organization in the Twin Cities. Law enforcement learned that Scott Velisek, one of the defendant’s co-conspirators, was receiving large shipments of methamphetamine and selling pound-level quantities to a regular stable of customers. Those key customers would then deal the methamphetamine to their own customers. Pacheco was one of several of Velisek’s customers who then sold smaller amounts of methamphetamine to others.
Pacheco’s co-conspirators, Scott Joel Velisek, Elizabeth Reeves Sporleder, Del Corey Crandell, Leslie Marie Cloud, and Nicole Lee Chaparro previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking organization.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Renville County Sheriff’s Office.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan H. Nelson, and tried by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren O. Roso and Lindsey E. Middlecamp.
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