Meth sale ringleader sentenced to prison

The ringleader of five defendants in the sale of a half pound of methamphetamine to undercover agents was sentenced Monday to five years in prison.

"I believe you were the person highest up in the chain," District Judge Michael Gibbons told Matias Espinoza-Mendoza, also known as Leo Osorio-Cahavez.

"Your sentence has to be greater than the other people. You pay a penalty for being involved in drug trafficking for a significant period of time."

Espinoza-Mendoza must serve a minimum of 24 months before he is eligible for parole.

He has been in Douglas County Jail for 255 days since his arrest with three other men and a woman.

"I'm sorry for what I did. Please be light on me. I don't want to come back. Teresa (Castellanos-Padilla) is in Mexico. My plans are to go to Mexico and not come back. I don't want to do this any more," Espinoza-Mendoza said.

The five were arrested for trying to sell a half-pound of methamphetamine with a street value of $25,000. The drug was seized by officers Feb. 17 by Douglas County's Street Enforcement Team and the Tri-NET narcotics task force.

Espinoza-Mendoza, 28, and Castellanos-Padilla lived at the residence at 902 Peridot Court in Indian Hills with a 3-year-old boy where an arrest warrant was served on Feb. 17.

One of the confidential informants was later convicted of stealing $1,000 in funds advanced to him from the sheriff's office to buy the drug.

Lawyer James Boles, who represented Espinoza-Mendoza, said the conviction was his client's first felony despite numerous encounters with law enforcement.

"He has no felonies, no gross misdemeanors, no misdemeanors," Boles said. "There have been no incarcerations other than this period."

Boles said Espinoza-Mendoza's difficulties could be traced to a "significant history" of drug and alcohol abuse.

Boles said the confidential informants who arranged for the buy were more culpable than his client.

"I am not making light of his involvement, but the really heavy hitters are the two people who arranged for his arrest," he said.

Boles said Espinoza-Mendoza would be a good candidate for drug court, but he was ineligible because the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service has a hold on him.

Prosecutor Dina Salvucci said one reason Espinoza-Mendoza didn't have many convictions on his record was because he kept getting deported.

Of the remaining defendants, Castellanos-Padilla, 22, was sentenced to probation and returned to Mexico with the child.

Marcos Mendes, 29, was sentenced to 12-26 months in prison; Coriano Chacon-Hernandez, 31, was sentenced to 13-60 months in prison, and Catarino Vasquez-Esquivel, 28, was sentenced to 12-30 months in prison.