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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Sept. 15, 2009
INDICTMENT: DRIVER FROM WASHINGTON STATE SMUGGLED 1.8 KILOS OF HEROIN THROUGH WICHITA
WICHITA, KAN. – Eusebio Guerrero-Sanchez, 34, Mount Vernon, Wash., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute 1.8 kilograms of heroin, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today. The crime is alleged to have occurred Sept. 8, 2009, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
Guerrero-Sanchez initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Sept. 11, 2009. According to the agent’s affidavit, on Sept. 8, 2009, a Wichita police officer stopped Guerrero-Sanchez, who was driving eastbound in the 13,600 block of West Highway 54. The officer noted that Guerrero-Sanchez had Washington license plates, two cell phones and no luggage. A check with the El Paso Intelligence Center told the officer that the car had entered the United States at California from Mexico on Sept. 5, 2009. With the help of a drug dog, officers found the heroin wrapped in black aluminum duct tape and hidden in the front passenger side fender of the vehicle.
If convicted, Guerrero-Sanchez faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Wichita Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A federal grand jury meeting in Wichita, Kan., also returned the following indictments:
Karla Kay Aikman, 46, Natoma, Kan.; Michael Scott Berg, 34, Newton, Kan.; and Jaimi Michelle Lettau, 29, Newton, Kan., are charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In addition, Berg and Lettau are charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 22 and July 23, 2009, in Harvey County, Kan.
If convicted they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison on each of the methamphetamine charges; and not less than 5 years and not more than life on the firearms charge. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
Maria A. Coronado-Hernandez, 29, a citizen of Guatemala, is charged with one count of using fraudulent documents to be employed in the United States, three counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of making a false statement on an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form, and one count of misusing a Social Security number. According to the indictment, she gave Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, Inc., a Social Security number that was not assigned to her. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Dec . 7, 2005, in Cowley County, Kan.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Using false documents to be employed: A maximum penalty of 10 years without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory 2 years to run consecutively to other sentences.
Making a false statement to the U.S. government: A maximum penalty of 5 years without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Misusing a Social Security number: A maximum penalty of 5 years without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Eusebio Sierra-Ledezman, 71, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Aug. 31, 2009, in Wichita, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Adolfo Tapia-Barragan, 26, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Aug. 27, 2009, in Wichita, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
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