Tucson Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years for Possession of Methamphetamine and Firearms
TUCSON, Ariz. – Gabriel Joseph Bustamante, 43, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on September 28, 2022, by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 17.5 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Bustamante previously pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Felon in Possession of Firearms.
On April 22, 2021, federal agents served a search warrant on Bustamante’s residential trailer and seized 3.6 kilograms of pure methamphetamine and multiple firearms. Agents also searched two storage units belonging to Bustamante where they recovered additional firearms.
This investigation was a collaborative effort between federal law enforcement agencies and is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative in Southern Arizona that is led by the Tucson Strike Force. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Culver and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-21-1116-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-174_Bustamante
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