Nampa Woman Charged In Multi-Defendant Meth Trafficking Case Sentenced To 84 Months In Prison

Co-Defendant Pleads Guilty to Related Charges

BOISE – Wendy Demirdjian Harrison, 53, of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Harrison to serve five years of supervised release. She pleaded guilty to the charge on November 18, 2013.

According to court documents and Harrison’s admission in court, beginning in November 2012, she conspired with others, including her co-defendants, to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.

Harrison’s co-defendant, Juan Luis Mojica-Barragan, 24, of Nyssa, Oregon, pleaded guilty today to an information charging him with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

According to Mojica’s plea agreement, on February 20, 2013, an undercover police officer met with Mojica and co-defendant Hernan Gomez-Gutierrez at a restaurant in Nampa to discuss methamphetamine transactions. Gomez-Gutierrez offered to sell cocaine to the officer and offered to provide a sample. Mojica was present during the conversation. After they left the restaurant, the officer followed Gomez-Gutierrez and Mojica to a residence where Mojica retrieved a clear plastic bag containing a white powdery substance. Gomez-Gutierrez separated a portion of the substance and provided it to the officer. Testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laboratory determined the substance weighed 1.1 grams and contained cocaine. According to the plea agreement, Gomez-Gutierrez recruited others to help him distribute methamphetamine, including other co-defendants. Mojica participated in the distribution of methamphetamine. Another co-defendant told law enforcement agents that she met with Gomez-Gutierrez and Mojica at the restaurant in Nampa on several occasions in February 2013, where Mojica provided her with approximately eight ounces of methamphetamine during those meetings.

Mojica-Barragan faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1 million, and at least three years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21, 2014.

A federal grand jury indicted Harrison, Mojica-Barragan and nine other defendants on July 9, 2013. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired together to distribute methamphetamine. It also contains additional charges alleging distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of cocaine, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Nine of the defendants have pleaded guilty. Two co-defendants, Jeramie Ethan Mahler, 27, of Star, Idaho, and Carlos Eberardo Tovar, 29, of Nampa, are scheduled to enter guilty pleas next week to related drug trafficking and firearms charges. Co-defendant Bobbi Eileen Woolsey, 36, of Boise, is set for sentencing on March 4, also for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the Nampa Police Department. The Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force is comprised of federal, state and local agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Boise Police Department; Ada County Sheriff’s Office; Caldwell Police Department; Nampa Police Department; Meridian Police Department; Canyon County Sheriff’s Office; and Idaho Department of Probation and Parole.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth. For more information, visit treasurevalleypartners.org.