FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
Docket #: 1:04-cr-5327-AWI

FRESNO, Calif. — A former Fresno resident was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after fleeing five years ago, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Estanislao Pulido, 48, for conspiring to cultivate marijuana and possession of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Pulido pleaded guilty to the charges on March 8, 2007 and was out of custody awaiting sentencing scheduled for August 6, 2007. He failed to appear and was a fugitive until March 2012 when was taken into custody in Port Arthur, Texas and returned to California for further proceedings.

Pulido is the last of 39 indicted defendants to be sentenced in an investigation that began in 2003. The organization was responsible for growing marijuana on public lands and possessing nearly two tons of marijuana at a processing location in Merced County in November 2004. Additionally, Pulido sold cocaine and methamphetamine during the investigation.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Investigation, formerly the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Laurel J. Montoya and Kimberly A. Sanchez prosecuted the case.

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