Wagoner Man Pleads Guilty To Methamphetamine Distribution

Muskogee, Oklahoma - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that on March 25, 2014, MAURICIO ORTIZ-VARGAS, a/k/a MAURICIO ORTIZ, a/k/a MAURICIO HERNANDEZ-CHAVEZ, a/k/a MAURICIO HERNANDEZ, age 36, of Wagoner, Oklahoma, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with intent to Distribute and Distribute 500 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A).

The charge is a result from an investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations – Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The defendant was indicted in June, 2013.

The Indictment alleged that beginning in or about 2009 until on or about April 18, 2013, the defendant conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a methamphetamine mixture.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the defendant’s plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. The defendant will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing.

The statutory range of punishment is not less than 10 years imprisonment, and/or up to a $10,000,000.00 fine. Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Henson represented the United States.