Pasco man sentenced for trafficking Mexican cartel drugs to Spokane area

A previously convicted drug dealer, who spent less than a year out of federal prison before getting arrested again, was sentenced Wednesday to about 25 years in prison for his part in a criminal conspiracy that transported pounds of Mexican cartel methamphetamine to the Spokane area.

Rosalio E. Sanchez, 33, of Pasco, previously was convicted in March of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of meth and 5 kilograms of cocaine. He also was convicted of distributing 50 grams or more of pure meth.

U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen sentenced Sanchez to 270 months on the drug charges and another 27 months for violating the terms of his supervision based on a previous drug conviction. Nielsen sentenced Sanchez on Wednesday during a hearing in Richland.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington thanked agents from several federal agencies, Spokane police and Oregon State Patrol which investigated the case.

“Their seamless partnership resulted in the successful outcome of this matter,” Harrington said in a news release.

Sanchez was arrested as a member of the Bueno Drug Trafficking Organization, part of the Sinaloa cartel that had been run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, court records state. During the investigation, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 50 pounds of meth and 25 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported to the Spokane area.

Sanchez’s defense attorney, Roger Peven, wrote in court records that his client has spent most of his adult life in prison. He previously was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison on a 2007 drug conviction.

“He was released in 2016 and less than a year later, he was incarcerated on the current charges,” Peven wrote. “Mr. Sanchez has simply not had much adult life to talk about. Mr. Sanchez clearly made some good attempts at a ‘normal life’ while released.”

The attorney noted Sanchez began working at AutoZone and went to school to become a truck driver when he was charged in the current case.

“The court heard extensive testimony in this trial … about the ‘Bueno DTO,’ ” Peven wrote. “From evidence presented, this organization was worth millions of dollars and had far reaching objectives. The organization will not cease to function because Mr. Sanchez is incarcerated for twenty-five years instead of fifteen years. Like the head of a hydra, more heads grow back when one is cut off.”

Peven noted the government’s case was based largely on informants who detailed “tales of pounds of methamphetamines delivered weekly for months,” and Peven noted that several co-defendants received much less time in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Van Marter and Richard Barker. Harrington thanked them for their work and praised the sentence handed down by Nielsen.

“The sentence imposed by the court removes a drug trafficker from our streets and sends a clear message to others who may choose to engage in such criminal activity,” Harrington said.