Rene Garcia, 43, and Jose Ramirez, 45, were sentenced to 17.5 years in prison on February 18, 2022 in Charlotte, NC. They were caught in a hotel with methamphetamine, cash, and guns.
Ramirez and Garcia trafficked methamphetamine in Charlotte. On August 19, 2020, law enforcement learned that Garcia and Ramirez were trafficking narcotics in the Charlotte area.
Law enforcement investigating the case recovered from the defendants’ hotel room more than 230 grams of methamphetamine the pair had accidentally left behind after checking out of the hotel.
Police arrested Garcia and Ramirez on August 19, 2020 when the men returned to the hotel to recover the drugs from the room. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement recovered from Ramirez a loaded firearm and a large amount of cash, and from Garcia more drugs and cash.
Law enforcement seized from the defendants’ truck a second loaded firearm, two magazines containing ammunition, drug paraphernalia, and fake identification cards. Law enforcement also determined that the truck Garcia and Ramirez were driving had been reported as stolen.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that, within the previous 30 days of their arrest, the men had trafficked approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine in the Charlotte area.
In 2021 both Garcia and Ramirez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. In February 2022 they were both sentenced to 17.5 years in prison.
In handing down the prison sentences, the court took into consideration Garcia’s and Ramirez’s extensive prior drug trafficking and felony convictions. At the time of the offense, Garcia was on supervised release after he previously served more than 10 years in prison on federal racketeering conspiracy and firearms offenses for his affiliation with a cartel assassination squad.
