Soto-Vasquez Brothers Each Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Drug Dealing

PORTLAND, Ore. --  United States District Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced, in separate proceedings, Jose Antonio Soto-Vasquez, 29, and Jesus Manuel Soto-Vasquez, 27, each to ten years in federal prison on Wednesday, October 1, 2014.  Earlier this year, both co-defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

“The sentences in this case reflect the seriousness of federal sentencing for drug distribution,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall.

Both brothers were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as part of drug distribution ring operating in Salem, Oregon and were arrested in 2013.  They admitted to officers that they had been active in a southern Oregon outdoor marijuana grow and had returned to Salem where they distributed marijuana and methamphetamine.  Each defendant was found by the court to have possessed a firearm in connection with the offense.  The quantity of methamphetamine they possessed for sale subjected them to a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence.

The case was investigated by the Salem office of the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Thomas H. Edmonds.