Father and Son Sentenced to Prison for Drug Conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Guatemalan man was sentenced today to nearly three and a half years in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, Minor Peralta-Perez, aka Amilcar Lara, 44, and his son, Mynor Mejia Benitez, 25, distributed over half a kilogram of cocaine to a confidential source over a 14-month time period. Mejia Benitez was his father’s source of supply of cocaine. Peralta-Perez introduced the confidential source to Mejia Benitez during the summer of 2017, after the CS requested to purchase ounce-quantities of cocaine. For the majority of the transactions, Peralta Perez and the CS traveled to Mejia Benitez’s residence, in Dumfries, to conduct the cocaine transactions. During their first encounter, Mejia Benitez pulled a Smith and Wesson pistol from his waistband during the cocaine transaction. On other occasions, Mejia Benitez’s two minor children were in the residence during the sale of cocaine.  

During the conspiracy, Peralta Perez was deported to Guatemala after a driving while intoxicated charge in Alexandria. Despite his deportation, Peralta Perez directed his associates based in the United States to maintain his drug operations and made his intentions known that he would re-enter the United States. In December 2018, Peralta Perez illegally reentered the United States at the Texas border and was subsequently prosecuted.

On March 15, Mejia Benitez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in this conspiracy and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jesse R. Fong, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Virginia Assistant Attorney General Lena Munasifi prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-68.