Methamphetamine Distributors Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences

LUBBOCK, Texas — Two Littlefield, Texas, men, Juan Carlos Lara-Ochoa and Jose Alberto Cibrian, were sentenced this morning before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Lara-Ochoa, 24, was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison. Lara-Ochoa pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Cibrian, 41, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. Cibrian also pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to documents filed in court, on June 1, 2016, officers with the Lubbock Police Department learned that Lara-Ochoa would be delivering about two pounds of methamphetamine to Christopher Paul Andrade in Lubbock. Law enforcement set up surveillance and followed Lara-Ochoa from Littlefield, Texas to the La Michoacana grocery on Clovis Highway in Lubbock. Lara-Ochoa parked in the grocery store’s parking lot, and a short time later, Andrade arrived and parked next to him. Andrade got into the front passenger seat of Lara-Ochoa’s vehicle, stayed for less than one minute, and then exited that vehicle, returning to his. Law enforcement followed Andrade as he drove out of the parking lot, and after a brief pursuit, detained Andrade and found approximately 444 grams of methamphetamine that he had attempted to discard during the pursuit.

Andrade pleaded guilty in August 2016 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in a separate case. He was sentenced on December 1, 2016, by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 135 months in federal prison.

Law enforcement observed Lara-Ochoa depart the parking lot and return to Littlefield, where they arrested him. They obtained a search warrant for his vehicle and located a hidden compartment under the front passenger’s seat that contained two separate packages of methamphetamine, weighing a total of 2,230 grams. One of those was packaged exactly the same as the methamphetamine Andrade had discarded. Officers also obtained a search warrant for Lara-Ochoa’s storage unit and found an additional 1,782 grams of methamphetamine and five firearms.

On March 4, 2016, officers with the Littlefield Police Department learned of a suspicious vehicle at a nearby RV park. Upon arrival, officers found Jose Alberto Cibrian passed out in the driver’s seat of that vehicle, with the engine running and the gear shift in the drive position. After removing him from the vehicle, officers found a plastic bag containing methamphetamine in the center console, a methamphetamine pipe, a digital scale and a firearm in a bag in the backseat. Cibrian admitted he had recently purchased the methamphetamine and the firearm.

The Lubbock Police Department, the Littlefield Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long prosecuted.

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