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Gulfport, MS – Juan Ignacio Gomez, 36, of Laredo, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to 71 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 60 months in federal prison for interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity. Those sentences were ordered to run concurrent and followed by three years of supervised release announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze. Gomez was also ordered to pay a $ 5,000 fine.
On October 19, 2017, Gomez pled guilty to the two counts and admitted to traveling from Texas to Jackson County, Mississippi, with over 5,000 grams of cocaine hidden in his tractor-trailer. On July 6, 2017, an officer with the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team noticed the tractor-trailer driven by Gomez swerve while traveling on Interstate 10. The officer learned that the tractor-trailer had over nine border crossings into Mexico within six months and the last one was merely two days before the stop. Upon questioning Gomez, the officer became suspicious due to inconsistencies in his story and Gomez’s nervous behavior. The officer then had his K9 conduct an exterior sweep around the tractor-trailer. The K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics. When the officer searched the tractor-trailer, he located 12 packages of cocaine concealed in a duffle bag.
The case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team, and the Pascagoula Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.
