Security News: Oregon Man Sentenced on Conspiracy Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Wilsonville, Oregon, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on August 15, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Leonardo Vazquez, Jr., age 22, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to pay $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Leonardo Vazquez, Jr. was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in March of 2021.  He pleaded guilty on May 23, 2022.

Beginning on an unknown date and continuing until February 2021, Vazquez reached an agreement to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in the District of South Dakota.

During his involvement in the conspiracy, Vazquez drove a vehicle that contained a large quantity of methamphetamine.  He was assisting his co-conspirators who were selling methamphetamine to drug customers in Sioux Falls by driving them to their deals.  On November 7, 2019, he was driving near Worthington, Minnesota, alone in a vehicle registered to him.  There was approximately eleven pounds of methamphetamine and two guns in the car.  He was stopped by the police, who then searched his car and found the guns and methamphetamine.  His involvement in the conspiracy ended with the seizure of his vehicle on November 7, 2019.

This case was investigated by Worthington Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Vazquez was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.