Georgia Narcotics Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison

June 04, 2025

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Approximately 20.74 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) investigated the case.

NEW BERN, N.C. – Jesus Anibal Gutierrez, a 27-year-old resident of College Park, GA was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison for distributing crystal methamphetamine in Goldsboro, NC. Gutierrez pled guilty on November 12, 2024.

According to the court documents and other information presented in court, the investigation began in July 2023, when law enforcement learned that a Mexico-based drug trafficker had arranged to send significant quantities of narcotics to the Eastern District of North Carolina. Law enforcement learned that a courier working on behalf of the Mexican drug trafficker was scheduled to arrive in the Goldsboro, NC area with a large shipment of methamphetamine on October 21, 2023.

Law enforcement located the courier’s car and conducted a traffic stop. A K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the car, and law enforcement seized approximately 20.74 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, as well as three cellular telephones. Gutierrez was a passenger in the car and admitted to law enforcement that he coordinated the shipment of narcotics and was traveling to the Goldsboro area to deliver them. The driver, Rosendo Salazar, pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on March 10, 2025.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer C. Nucci prosecuted the case.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov, and www.dea.gov . For more information on fentanyl, visit DEA’s One Pill Can Kill Campaign at www.dea.gov/onepill. The materials on this website are available for public use.