Third Man Sentenced for Distributing Meth in the Treasure Valley
Two Defendants Remain Fugitives
BOISE – Mexican national Jose Romos-Gonzalez, 25, also known as “Taliban,” a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced today to 188 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Valdez-Soto to forfeit proceeds from his illegal drug activity, including $160,000 in United States currency.
Romos-Gonzales was convicted on March 12 by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine. Romos-Gonzales was living in Caldwell, Idaho, at the time of his arrest. During the trial, the jury heard evidence that between January 1 and May 18, 2011, Romos-Gonzalez and his co-defendant Angel Valdez-Soto entered into a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Ada and Canyon counties in Idaho. According to court testimony, the men obtained methamphetamine from a source in Southern California and sold it in Idaho. Romos-Gonzales and Valdez-Soto traveled to California on several occasions to obtain pound-quantities of methamphetamine. According to trial testimony, Romos-Gonzales and Valdez-Soto were aided in the conspiracy by three co-defendants and others.
Co-defendant Angel Valdez-Soto, a Mexican national, was sentenced on May 22 to 108 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine.
Co-defendant Roy Brian Coolidge of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced on April 2 to 57 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Two co-defendants, Luis Angel Nunez-Leon and Jose Gregorio Valenzuela-Favela, are fugitives.
“These sentences demonstrate that those who poison our communities and our youth with methamphetamine will serve long sentences in federal prisons,” said Olson. “State and federal law enforcement officers throughout Idaho will work together to ensure that drug traffickers are caught, prosecuted and convicted.”
The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department Narcotics Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Nampa Police Department.