Three area drug traffickers have been sentenced to federal prison for their role in methamphetamine sales.
Cheyanne Juarez, 31, of Ontario, on Thursday, April 5, was handed an eight-year prison sentence Thursday, April 4, along with a five-year supervised release after her prison sentence for distributing methamphetamine, according to recent press release from Idaho U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit
According to court documents, Juarez admitted to delivering two pounds of methamphetamine to an informant on Jan. 31 in Boise. The documents note that Juarez was the courier, receiving $250 for the transaction. The two pounds of methamphetamine sold for $3,550.
Juarez’s co-defendant, Owenn Mitchell, according to court documents, was the source of the methamphetamine.
On Jan. 31, the court documents note that Juarez spoke to the confidential source who then drove to a local bank and deposited the money for the two pounds of methamphetamine into Mitchell’s bank account. The confidential source then met with Juarez at a residence in Boise, where Juarez delivered methamphetamine to the informant.
Jason Castillo, 46, of Nampa, was sentenced to more than 14 years for two federal cases.
In the first case, like Juarez, Castillo delivered two and a half pounds of methamphetamine to a law enforcement informant in Nampa on Dec. 20. Mitchell was also listed as the source of the methamphetamine.
According to documents, in a separate case, police arrested Castillo in January of 2023 while he was on what the press release characterized as “a crime spree.” During a traffic stop, the patrol officer saw Castillo attempting to conceal a Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter pistol.
Castillo made several calls from jail that tipped law enforcement off to a brown zipper pouch with two plastic bags of drugs behind the engine block in the car he was driving when he was pulled over and subsequently arrested, according to court documents. One, the documents note, contained 442 grams of methamphetamine and the other had 63 grams of fentanyl.
According to court documents, Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine, the press release notes. Mitchell’s plea hearing is set for Monday, April 22.
In a separate case, Mary Jo Myers, 46, of Nampa, was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.
Authorities pulled Myers over on February 10, 2022, and found over half a pound of methamphetamine, 82 grams of heroin, approximately 150 fentanyl pills, and 12 grams of fluor fentanyl powder, a fentanyl analog, according to court filings.
According to the press release, the Castillo, Juarez, and Mitchell indictments were part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. The press release said the task force “identifies, disrupts, and dismantles” high-level traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that bring drugs into the region.
U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit said the sentences underscore the success that federal partnerships with local law enforcement can have in eliminating drug trafficking organizations from communities.
“Drug traffickers should know that they will be held accountable for the harm they cause in our neighborhoods,” Hurwit said.
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