News and Press Releases
Four men sentenced for conspiring to distribute 850 grams of methamphetamine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS – Earlier today in federal court, the last of four men was sentenced for
conspiring to distribute nearly 850 grams of methamphetamine in the Twin Cities. United States
District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Moises Pulido Jauregui, age 37, no known
address, to 120 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
methamphetamine. Jauregui, formerly known as Manuel Rivera De La Paz, was indicted along
with three co-defendants on October 5, 2010, and pleaded guilty on March 2, 2011.
Jauregui admittedly participated in the August 30, 2010, delivery of methamphetamine,
which, unbeknownst to him and his co-defendants, was part of a controlled drug purchase by law
enforcement. Co-defendant Mauricio De La Paz Barrio drove Jauregui to the home of codefendant
Rodriguez-Cruz, where surveillance officers saw the two men place a package in a
vehicle that belonged to Rodriguez-Cruz.
A short time later, Rodriguez-Cruz, a backpack in hand, met co-defendant Julio Damian
Camacho at a Minneapolis gas station. Camacho, who arrived at the station on a bicycle,
immediately took the backpack and moved behind the building to complete the drug transaction.
Rodriguez-Cruz was immediately arrested, and Camacho was apprehended after briefly fleeing
authorities on his bike. Inside the backpack, police found 437 grams of methamphetamine.
Barrio and Jauregui were arrested a nearby residential area. Police located an additional 409
grams of methamphetamine in their vehicle.
Following today’s sentencing, Dan Moren, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration’s Minneapolis-St. Paul Field Office (“DEA”), said, “The
DEA Task Force and its local law enforcement partners continue to focus their collective efforts
targeting those organizations that pose a significant risk to our communities. In this case, the
criminal organization was distributing the insidious drug methamphetamine, which remains a
priority of all law enforcement due to its highly addictive and destructive nature.”
On August 26, 2011, Mauricio De La Paz Barrio, age 37, no known address, was sentenced
to 151 months in prison on one count of conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on December 7, 2010. On
August 24, 2011, Raciel Rodriguez-Cruz, age 33, no known address, was sentenced to 120
months on one count of conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on December 8, 2010. And, on April 29,
2011, Julio Damian Camacho, age 27, no known address, was sentenced to 24 months in prison
on one count of conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on December 21, 2010.
This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Northwest Drug Task Force. It was prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn K. Bell.
