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Man Gets Prison Term for Role in Pot Case

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 09:00 CST

By Jonathan Athens, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.

Jan. 25--A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Mexican man to nearly four years in prison for his role in the third-largest reported marijuana smuggling incident in Yuma County last year.

U.S. District Judge Stephen M., McNamee sentenced Jose A. Quesada, 20, to 46 months in prison after he found Quesada guilty of one count of importing a controlled substance.

Yuma sector Border Patrol agents on Aug. 22, 2005, arrested Quesada, an illegal alien from Mexico, and his alleged accomplice, Jose Popoca, 20, also an illegal alien from Mexico, after spotting a pickup truck cross the desert from Mexico into Yuma County near Avenue 3E and County 25th Street.

Agents saw two men run from the vehicle after it came to a stop and found 2,159 pounds of bundled marijuana valued at $1.7 million in the pickup truck. Agents found both Quesada and Popoca about a half-mile away from the truck, according to court records and The Sun archives.

Days earlier, Border Patrol agents seized 2,713 pounds of marijuana valued at $2.1 million in a smuggling incident and in mid-November 2005, Border Patrol agents made the largest single marijuana seizure that year, intercepting 3,672 pounds of marijuana valued at $2.9 million in a smuggling incident.

Federal authorities originally charged Quesada with one count of conspiracy with intent to distribute a controlled substance. In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Quesada pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.

Popoca's case is still pending in federal court.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sun (Yuma, Ariz.)

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