Clearwater Drug Distributor Sentenced to More than 15 Years in Prison
TAMPA, Fla –Jorge Ramirez (41, Clearwater, Fla.) was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. Ramirez had pleaded guilty on August 25, 2020.
According to information presented during Ramirez’s sentencing hearing, Ramirez was convicted in state court (Pasco County) for trafficking cocaine in 2011. After serving more than three years in state prison, Ramirez, aka “Dientes,” “Cha-Ching,” and “Ching”, resumed selling large amounts of drugs, distributing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine, as well as smaller amounts of heroin and cocaine for years before he was ultimately arrested in this case. By the time Ramirez’ Florida-based Mexican cartel suppliers were arrested in April 2019, Ramirez had sold at least 40 kilograms of highly pure methamphetamine over the previous five months.
In December 2020, each of Ramirez’s suppliers, Adan Barajas Maldonado and Juan Carlos Arias Castillo, were sentenced to 25 years in prison.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Tampa District Office, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
More information about this case can be found at https://www.flmd.uscourts.gov or https://ecf.flmd.uscourts.gov
