A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court after a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper found more than 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of methamphetamine and a firearm during a car stop on Interstate 70 in Saline County, Mo.
Jose Alfredo Renteria-Rojas, 34, who was residing in Des Plaines, Illinois, was sentenced by U.S. District Chief Judge Beth Phillips to 11 years and six months in federal prison without parole.
On Oct. 25, 2022, Renteria-Rojas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Renteria-Rojas was a passenger in a white 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SE being driven by his brother, co-defendant Gustavo Renteria-Rojas, 39, a citizen of Mexico residing in Evanston, Ill., on April 5, 2021. Their car was stopped by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on eastbound I-70 in Saline County, Mo. The trooper could smell the odor of burnt and raw marijuana emanating from the vehicle as he stood outside the front passenger-side window. He also noticed a marijuana blunt in the center console. When Gustavo Renteria-Rojas opened the glove box to retrieve the requested paperwork, a bag of marijuana was visible in plain view.
Gustavo Renteria-Rojas was placed in the trooper’s patrol car. The trooper requested Jose Renteria-Rojas, in the rear passenger seat, to exit the vehicle for a vehicle search. As Jose Renteria-Rojas did so, air fresheners fell from the car. Jose Renteria-Rojas then collected them and put them in the door pocket, which also contained a loaded Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun with a magazine, as well as an extra magazine.
The trooper searched the vehicle and found four white cardboard boxes in the trunk that contained 36 packages with a total of 88.7 pounds of methamphetamine. The trooper also found a methamphetamine smoking pipe concealed within a roll of toilet paper on the driver’s seat where Gustavo Renteria-Rojas had been sitting.
Gustavo Renteria-Rojas pleaded guilty to the same charges on Oct 13, 2022, and will be sentenced on April 6, 2023.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Rhoades. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
