A federal judge in Nebraska sent an Arizona man to prison for 10 years Friday for getting stopped on Interstate 80 just outside of Lincoln last year with more than 18 pounds of methamphetamine in a duffel bag in the trunk.
Adrian German Vasquez, 23, of Nogales, also was caught at a border crossing in Arizona four months earlier with nearly 100 pounds of marijuana in bricks hidden in the seats, doors and spare tire compartment.
U.S. District Judge John Gerrard sentenced him to prison in both cases and gave him five years on supervised release.
Vasquez pleaded guilty in June to possession with intent to deliver more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, plus conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to deliver marijuana.
Around 1 a.m. Aug. 9, 2016, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled over Vasquez for speeding and learned he was wanted in Arizona on a parole violation.
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The trooper asked to search the rental car, which was registered to someone else, and found a bag with less than an ounce of marijuana between the driver’s seat and the center console.
In the trunk, the trooper found a duffel bag with 19 bags of meth, and Vasquez later admitted he was taking it to Minnesota.
At the plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Klein said on April 18, 2016, Vasquez was stopped at a border crossing near Tombstone, Arizona, in a Kia Optima that had just under 44 kilos (96 pounds) of marijuana.
On Friday, Vasquez said he is from a border town and had started running with the wrong crowd, but he was ready to rebuild.
Gerrard said Vasquez's distribution problems are all related to his "use of drugs and your perceived need for quick easy money. ... You're learning a steep lesson at an early age."