Texas Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking

            Fort Smith, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Rosenaldo Benitez, Jr., age 37, of Mission, Texas, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.  The Honorable Chief Judge P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

            According to court records, during the course of an ongoing investigation, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted multiple controlled phone calls in which they learned that Benitez and co-conspirator Robert Sandoval were transporting approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine across the country.  Benitez was arrested by law enforcement when he stopped to meet with Sandoval in the Western District of Arkansas.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March, 2016 and pleaded guilty in June, 2016. 

            Co-Conspirator Roberto Sandoval was sentenced on September 7, 2016 to 51 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release on one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine. 

            This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.  Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov