Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas man gets 10 years in federal methamphetamine case

A Las Vegas man who had more than 2 kilos of methamphetamine in his car and 4.5 kilos in a rented storage unit has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

John Ortega, 25, was sentenced Tuesday to 121 months in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada announced today.

Ortega pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Justice Department.

Investigators learned in early 2013 that Ortega was supplying kilo quantities of meth to codefendant Keith Alcos of Honolulu, Hawaii, officials said, citing court records.

In August 2013, after obtaining information that Alcos and two other men were traveling from Honolulu to Las Vegas to obtain meth, investigators followed Ortega to a storage facility, where he went inside a unit and came out with a black bag, officials said.

Investigators stopped Ortega and during a search of his vehicle recovered about 2 kilos — more than 4 pounds — of methamphetamine, officials said. A search of the storage unit turned up about 4.5 kilos of liquid methamphetamine, $13,000 and a 9 mm handgun with an obliterated serial number, officials said.

Alcos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute methamphetamine and is set to be sentenced Jan. 8, officials said. Two other men are fugitives, officials said.

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