HOT SPRINGS – A California man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance Methamphetamine. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Hot Springs.
According to court documents, on or about March 16, 2021, Troopers with the Arkansas State Police (ASP) initiated a traffic stop on a passenger vehicle operated by Uriel Ramirez-Manzanares, age 40. After determining that Manzanares did not have a valid driver’s license, a vehicle inventory was conducted prior to the vehicle being towed. The inventory resulted in Troopers locating and seizing a black bag that contained suspected narcotics and a blue bag that contained approximately $11,084.00 of United States currency. The ASP Troopers subsequently requested the assistance of agents from the 18th East Drug Task Force. During an interview with Manzanares, he admitted that he knew the vehicle contained narcotics and that he was aware of the presence of the United States Currency. Further, Manzanares stated that he was in-route to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to deliver the narcotics and money to an area drug dealer. Further, Manzanares also advised that he had delivered drugs to the Hot Springs area on at least two (2) previous occasions.
One package of suspected narcotics was determined to be 420.94 grams of pure methamphetamine by the Drug Enforcement Administration Laboratory. The other packages of narcotics were submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory and determined to be approximately 214 grams of Fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Arkansas State Police, the 18th East Judicial District Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations Little Rock, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the 18th East Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office investigated the case investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case.