Mexican Man Sentenced to 156 Months for I-80 Traffic Stop Involving 20 Pounds of Methamphetamine

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Jesus Sanchez-Meza, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, on February 10, 2023, for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.  Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Sanchez-Meza to 156 months’ imprisonment.  He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

On February 16, 2022, law enforcement photographed Sanchez-Meza, a U.S. citizen who resided in Mexico, driving a Ford F-150 truck with California license plates crossing the border from Mexico into the United States.  On February 18, 2022, law enforcement observed Sanchez-Meza in the same F-150 truck driving too closely to vehicles on Interstate 80 in violation of Nebraska traffic laws. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the truck. Sanchez-Meza gave false information to the officers regarding his travel plans. The truck was then searched by law enforcement, and they located 20 individual one-pound packages of methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.