LOS ANGELES
A Riverside County man was sentenced this week to 12 years in federal prison for possessing while intending to distribute kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and for illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, officials stated.
U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha sentenced Alvaro Hector Martinez, 33, of Perris.
Martinez pleaded guilty in June 2023 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
In February 2021, Martinez – acting at the direction of a Sinaloan drug trafficker – sold approximately 872 grams of methamphetamine to a buyer.
The following month, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Martinez.
In his car, Martinez possessed 35 packages containing approximately 34 pounds of pure methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute, according to authorities.
Following the traffic stop, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence where DEA agents had observed Martinez departing with the drugs. There, they found five containers of methamphetamine weighing approximately 18.7 pounds, three firearms, and 38 rounds of ammunition.
Martinez admitted in his plea agreement to knowingly possessing the firearms and ammunition.
Martinez is not legally permitted to possess firearms or ammunition because of his criminal history, which includes felony convictions in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2014 for grand theft and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section prosecuted this case.