Reno Man Sentenced To Over 13 Years In Prison For Conspiracy To Distribute Large Amounts Of Methamphetamine

RENO, Nev. – A Reno resident was sentenced today to 160 months in prison in connection to a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada.

Jose Efrain Larios Rivera, 37, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine. He has a prior felony drug conviction in Reno. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben sentenced Rivera to five years of supervised release.

Rivera admitted that he conspired with others to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine throughout the Reno area. He offered to sell methamphetamine for $5,000 per pound or $500 per ounce. The investigation revealed that law enforcement intercepted 3,082 grams of pure methamphetamine during a traffic stop on July 27, 2017. That load of narcotics was being driven by co-defendant Jose Bautistia-Miranda, Rivera’s cousin, and two others, from Los Angeles into Nevada. The trio were pulled over for a traffic violation during which the vehicle was searched and the methamphetamine was recovered.

The July seizure did not stop Rivera’s drug distribution. Less than a month later, in August 2017, Rivera and his “cousins” had agreed to transport one kilogram of heroin from Southern California to Reno. Rivera agreed to sell the kilogram of heroin to a buyer in Reno for $32,500. The defendant was arrested after he was stopped driving his truck traveling down  Highway 395. He was traveling in tandem with another co-defendant, Leon Valdez, who was driving a separate car with the heroin. Rivera and Valdez were stopped when traveling to the arranged location for the negotiated sale. During the traffic stop on Valdez’s car, a K-9 alerted the deputy to the presence of drugs. A search of the load car revealed 915 grams of heroin. In the defendant’s truck, stopped in close vicinity of the load car on Highway 395, Rivera had a Taurus .45 pistol under the driver’s seat and a small amount of heroin in his pocket.

The case was investigated by the DEA and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Keller prosecuted the case.

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