MEDFORD, Ore.—On September 7, 2022, a San Diego, California man was sentenced to federal prison for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine from Southern California to Southern Oregon for redistribution and sale.
Martin Jesus Velasco, 39, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in late 2019, law enforcement learned Velasco was transporting pound quantities of methamphetamine north from California in rental cars and then selling it to local drug dealers in Southern Oregon. On at least two occasions, including the trip precipitating his arrest, Velasco traveled in a rental vehicle containing drug shipments with an associate and the associate’s girlfriend and infant child.
On February 6, 2020, Velasco was stopped in Ashland, Oregon and his vehicle was searched pursuant to a state search warrant. Authorities located a duffle bag with five one-pound packages of methamphetamine. Velasco and an accomplice were arrested. A later search of his cell phone revealed evidence of Velasco’s extensive and ongoing drug trafficking, including trading methamphetamine he acquired in Southern California for marijuana grown in Southern Oregon.
On March 3, 2020, Velasco was charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Later, on November 5, 2020, a federal grand jury in Medford indicted him on the latter charge. On April 11, 2022, Velasco pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement (MADGE) team and Oregon State Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco Boccato of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.