Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Christian Gonzalez-Gardea, 26, of Las Cruces, Mexico, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. for Possessing with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Gonzalez-Gardea received a sentence of 135 months’ imprisonment with a five-year term of supervised release to follow.  There is no parole in the federal system.

On January 29, 2020, deputies with the Seward County Sheriff’s Office conducted simultaneous traffic stops on a Ford F150 pickup truck and a tow truck hauling a Cadillac Escalade while both were traveling on I-80 in Seward County.  The Escalade was found to be smuggling 27 pounds of methamphetamine.  Deputies determined that the Escalade had broken down in Hebron, Nebraska, and was being towed to Omaha, Nebraska.  The owner of the Escalade, Gonzalez-Gardea, was a passenger in the F150 pickup truck.  The driver of the F150 pickup truck, Rex Kmiecik, and a passenger riding with the tow truck, Pedro Robles, were also arrested.  Both had driven from Omaha to help get the Escalade towed to Omaha.

Kmiecik and Robles were also charged with Possessing with Intent to Distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Kmiecik has pleaded guilty with sentencing set for September 10, 2021.  Robles is set for trial to begin on November 8, 2021.  Both will be before Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr.

This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, the DEA, and the Omaha Police Department.