Washington Man Sentenced to Over 12 Years in Prison for Meth Offense

MISSOULA - Salomon Mejia Preciado, a 36-year-old resident of Yakima, Washington, was sentenced today to 151 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.  Preciado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Preciado is a former Federal felon and was prosecuted in the Eastern District of Washington and sentenced in 2003 to ten years in prison.  U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy handed down the sentence. 

In early September of 2017, law enforcement set up an undercover operation in which they purchased one pound of methamphetamine from Preciado in Missoula, Montana.  Later in September, Preciado was apprehended in his vehicle with six pounds of methamphetamine while traveling back to Missoula for another deal.  The methamphetamine totaled more than 3,000, grams which is the equivalent of more than 24,000 doses which would have otherwise reached users in Montana.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Elliott and investigated by the Missoula Drug Task Force. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.