California Residents Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - On December 16, 2014, Mario Ruben Borboa, a 38 year-old resident of Downey, California, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John Jarvey to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and to serve five years supervised release following imprisonment, announced United States Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt. Borboa entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on August 14, 2014.

Borboa’s co-defendant, Melissa Nicole Gallardo, a 30 year-old resident of Lancaster, California, was sentenced by Judge John Jarvey to 65 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and to serve three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Gallardo entered a guilty plea to the charge on July 11, 2014.

On February 27, 2014, the Iowa State Patrol in Cass County, Iowa, conducted a traffic stop resulting in the seizure of approximately 16 pounds of methamphetamine that was located in the trunk of the car Borboa and Gallardo had driven from California. The investigation revealed that the methamphetamine was being transported from the Los Angeles, California, area to Waterloo, Iowa, where it was to be distributed. Money received from the sale of the methamphetamine was to be returned to California at a later date.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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