Last Member Of Drug Ring With Ties To Sinaloa Cartel Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison
SEATTLE, WA - Ruben Ramirez-Ventura, 26, of Renton, Washington, was sentenced May 13, 2011 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Ramirez-Ventura is the last of three defendants sentenced to ten year terms following a drug trafficking investigation by the Drug Enforcement (DEA) and the Seattle Police Department. Ruben Ramirez-Ventura was convicted by a jury in November 2010, following the five day trial. Marisol Perez-Almonte, 28, of Renton, Washington, and Joan Luis Azamar-Sanchez, 31, of Seattle, Washington were both sentenced in February 2011.
According to records filed in the case, law enforcement set up drug deals for both methamphetamine and cocaine with Azamar-Sanchez. In the course of the investigation, Ramirez-Ventura was identified by law enforcement as a source of both the cocaine and methamphetamine in the Seattle area. Law enforcement gathered information that it was Ramirez-Ventura’s common law wife, Perez-Almonte that had the drug connection to the Sinaloa cartel. In February 2010, the couple made a trip to the Moreno Valley of Southern California, driving through the night. The next day they met at a motel with an unidentified man. Law enforcement had them under surveillance. They watched as the couple moved their Chevy Tahoe to a secluded part of the parking lot while Ramirez-Ventura worked on the rear passenger seat. As the couple were driving northbound, they were pulled over for speeding near Ashland, Oregon. A drug detecting canine alerted to the car. After obtaining a warrant, law enforcement found six kilos of cocaine hidden in the rear passenger seat.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement (DEA) and the Seattle Police Department, with assistance from the Oregon State Police.
