EUGENE, Ore.—A Southern California drug trafficker convicted at trial for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Pedro Keny Verganza, 39, of Los Angeles County, California, was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in December 2019, investigators with the Albany Police Department obtained information that an individual known as “Pelucha” was a source of supply for illegal narcotics transported by a California-based drug trafficking organization from California to Oregon for redistribution and sale. Further investigation revealed that, in mid-February 2020, a courier working with or on behalf of Pelucha was expected to arrive at a fast-food restaurant in Albany, Oregon to complete a sale of methamphetamine and heroin.
On February 15, 2020, law enforcement officers observed the courier, later determined to be Verganza, arrive at the fast-food restaurant with another individual. Law enforcement searched the pair’s vehicle and located a cardboard box containing three large heat-sealed and shrink-wrapped packages containing approximately three and a quarter pounds of methamphetamine and two and a quarter pounds of heroin. Subsequent lab tests revealed Verganza’s fingerprints and palm prints inside the box and on the packages of narcotics.
On February 16, 2020, Verganza was charged by federal criminal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and, on August 19, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene indicted Verganza on the same charge. Later, a charge of possessing with intent to distribute heroin was added by superseding indictment. On October 13, 2023, Verganza was found guilty at trial on both charges.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Albany Police Department and Linn County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Adam E. Delph and John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
###