Monticello, Minnesota, Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute 500 Grams or More of a Mixture Containing Methamphetamine

US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Rosendo Garcia-Navarro, age 44, of Monticello, Minnesota, appeared before Chief US District Judge Karen E. Schreier on April 13, 2012, and pled guilty to an indictment that charged him with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine. Garcia-Navarro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, and/or a $10 million fine.

Garcia-Navarro joined a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere that began in about the summer of 2008. During his involvement, Garcia-Navarro obtained and distributed methamphetamine in the St. Cloud, Minnesota, area. His involvement in the conspiracy ended with his arrest on March 4, 2011. Subsequent to his arrest, police located over $100,000 in drug proceeds which was being held on behalf of Garcia-Navarro by third parties.

The investigation was a combined effort of local, state, and federal authorities in South Dakota and Minnesota, including the Sheriff’s Offices of Stearns, Benton, and Todd County, Minnesota; the Police Departments of Wadena and St. Cloud, Minnesota; the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force; the Central Minnesota Drug and Gang Task Force; the Sioux Falls Police Department; the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office; the US Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney John E. Haak.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for July 2, 2012. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the US Marshal pending sentencing.