California Woman Sentenced for Transporting 19 Pounds of Cocaine

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Imelda Ambriz, 35, of Los Angeles, California, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for transporting cocaine. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Ambriz to 54 months’ imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  After her release from prison, she will begin a three-year term of supervised release. 

On September 17, 2022, a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol was patrolling westbound on Interstate 80 near mile marker 349 when he observed a white Ford SUV traveling eastbound in the passing lane following another vehicle at a close and unsafe distance. The trooper caught up to the SUV and saw it exit at mile marker 353. The trooper initiated a traffic stop at a nearby truck stop in York County.

The trooper approached the SUV and identified the lone driver as Imelda Ambriz, who was taking short rapid breaths and her entire body was shaking. While questioning Ambriz during the stop, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity and requested permission to search her vehicle, which Ambriz granted. A subsequent search revealed 19.9 pounds of cocaine hidden in the back of the vehicle’s seats.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.