Idaho Falls man pleads guilty in meth trafficking case
A 25-year-old Idaho Falls man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Pocatello Thursday to distributing methamphetamine. It was the latest pleading in a multi-agency drug trafficking investigation called Operation Walkabout.
As part of a plea agreement, U.S. Attorney for Idaho Wendy J. Olson said Marco Antonio Echeveirria admitted he made arrangements to purchase methamphetamine.
Echeverria will appear before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill for sentencing November 20, 2013. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of one million dollars and at least three years of supervised release.
Five co-defendants are scheduled to be sentenced October 23. They include Juan Garcia, 35, Fausto Enrique Urias, 32, Erica Rodriguez,33, and Misty Chapman,29, all of Idaho Falls and Benito Vasquez Joya, 58, of Rigby. All five pleaded guilty to related charges earlier this month.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The task force includes the Idaho State Police, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Home Security Investigations, the Bonneville, Bingham, Fremont and Madison County Sheriff’s offices, the Rexburg and Idaho Falls Police Departments, the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Marshal’s Service also participated in the program.
