Drug Trafficker In Guam Sentenced To 10 Years

(HAGATNA, GU) - ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that on March 24, 2014, in the U.S. District Court of Guam, Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood sentenced RODNEY D. TAITANO, age 45, to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release based upon his conviction for conspiracy to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine.  Chief Judge Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered TAITANO to perform 50 hours of community service.

            The defendant was receiving methamphetamine from California.  The drugs were inside air impact wrenches whose motors had been removed.  On May 4, 2013 Guam Customs Officers intercepted a suspicious package at the Guam Customs Air Cargo Facility and discovered methamphetamine concealed inside of two air impact wrenches which belonged to the defendant.   

            U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Alicia A.G. Limtiaco, stated, “Our community is not immune from the poison of methamphetamine.  This case illustrates the hard work our partners in law enforcement do every day to stop the distribution of methamphetamine into Guam.”

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Guam Customs & Quarantine Agency, Guam Police Department, Superior Court of Guam Probation Office, and United States Postal Inspectors.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karon V. Johnson and Clyde Lemons, Jr.