Source: United States Department of Justice News
POCATELLO – Ernestine Delafuente and Simon Martinez, of Idaho Falls, were sentenced to federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Delafuente to 309 months in federal prison, and Martinez to 264 months in federal prison.
According to court records and evidence presented at sentencing, from January 2020, through December 2020, Delafuente, Martinez, and multiple other individuals engaged in large-scale methamphetamine trafficking in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and the surrounding areas. Evidence established that Delafuente was the source of supply and leader of the drug trafficking organization. Evidence further established that Delafuente obtained hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and other drugs from a California source of supply. Martinez was identified as working directly under Delafuente in the drug trafficking organization. In December 2020, a search warrant was executed at a storage unit in Idaho Falls and law enforcement recovered more than 56 pounds of methamphetamine, and approximately 12,000 fentanyl pills.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, Idaho State Police, Idaho Falls Police Department, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Pocatello Police Department, Power County Sheriff’s Office, Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for their close collaboration on the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
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