Pomona Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Federal Weapons And Drug Offenses In Deal Expected To Bring Sentence Of Up To 17½ Years

LOS ANGELES – A Pomona man pleaded guilty today to a federal drug trafficking charge for possessing more than one-half pound of methamphetamine that he was planning to distribute.

Raymond Anthony Montanez, 24, pleaded guilty today to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Montanez pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who is scheduled to sentence the defendant on February 10. As part of the plea agreement that led to this morning’s guilty pleas, prosecutors and Montanez agree that he will be sentenced to at least 10 years in federal prison and up to 17½ years in custody. The actual sentence will be determined by Judge Gutierrez next year.

Authorities recovered 243.7 grams of methamphetamine from Montanez’s residence on July 29, 2012 after he had shot himself in the leg and was brought to the hospital for treatment. Pomona Police Officers investigating the incident responded to his residence, recovered the weapon that Montanez used to shoot himself, found two other firearms, and discovered the narcotics.

The firearms charge relates to Montanez’s possession of a firearm on July 4, 2012. He prohibited from possessing any guns because was previously convicted of a felony in 2008 in state court of carrying a loaded handgun.

The case against Montanez is the result of an investigation by the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which is made up of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Pomona Police Department; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.