US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission man charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Marijuana, was sentenced on November 15, 2011, by US District Judge Roberto A. Lange. Clement Paul Valandra, age 58, was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $500. A $100 victim assessment was imposed. Defendant will forfeit the $1,461 found by investigators during their search. Valandra will be placed in a residential re-entry facility until he finds placement for treatment.
Valandra was indicted for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Marijuana, by a federal grand jury on February 8, 2011, and pled guilty to the charge on August 22, 2011.
On September 10, 2010, Rosebud Sioux Tribe law enforcement executed a tribal search warrant at Clement Paul Valandra’s residence. Law enforcement found two plastic baggies with 3.8 ounces (107.73 grams) of marijuana in a Budweiser box at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom. They also found a container with .93 ounces (26.365 grams) of marijuana in the bedroom. Another 15.876 grams of marijuana were found within the room. Several more items were found in a desk in a separate room, including a total of $1,461 in cash, an envelope with various names and dollar amounts, a plastic bag containing 4.2 grams of cocaine (840 grams of marijuana converted), a box of sandwich bags, a plastic bag containing smaller zip lock bags with a Nike “swoosh” symbol on them, a digital weight scale with cocaine and marijuana residue on it, and a baggie with a white powdery substance inside. Various items of paraphernalia, a black address book, and a memory card were also seized. Valandra possessed the marijuana with intent to distribute it.
The $1,461 was obtained by Valandra, directly or indirectly, as a result of selling controlled substances and was intended to be used in any manner or part to facilitate the purchase of additional controlled substances for resale.
This case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant US Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.
|
