(BOISE, ID) – Sergio Cisneros-Guzman, a/k/a Salomon Hernandez Medina, 49, a Mexican citizen residing in Nampa, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and maintaining a drug-involved premises, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, the FBI-led Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force began investigating reports that Cisneros-Guzman was trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine and firearms out of his landscaping nursery, Rolling Hills Nursery, in Nampa. Law enforcement conducted six undercover controlled buys at Cisneros-Guzman’s nursery totaling approximately 2 kilograms of methamphetamine and also purchased an AR-style rifle with a high-capacity magazine. A search of Cisneros-Guzman’s nursery resulted in the seizure of an additional 100 grams of methamphetamine, eleven firearms, and $117,264 in cash. The government presented evidence at Cisneros-Guzman’s sentencing that when he sold the AR-style rifle with a high-capacity magazine along with a half-pound of methamphetamine, he told the undercover officer, “One thing is for sure, if you are involved in a massacre, don’t tell no one who sold it to you. If you want to use it, make sure to clean your fingerprints from the rifle and the ammo.”
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Cisneros-Guzman to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Cisneros-Guzman, who pleaded guilty to the offenses, agreed to forfeit to the United States the Rolling Hills Nursery, $117,264 in U.S. currency, eleven firearms, magazines and high-capacity magazines, and miscellaneous ammunition. Because Cisneros-Guzman is a Mexican citizen who was illegally present in the United States, he will be deported after serving his 16-year sentence. At sentencing, Judge Brailsford stated that Cisneros-Guzman’s criminal activity involved all the major threats currently facing the United States: illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and illegally possessed and trafficked firearms.
“Removing this defendant from our community is a win for Idaho and reflects the strong partnerships between our office and federal and local law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “We will not tolerate criminals illegally entering our country and then enriching themselves by distributing dangerous drugs and trafficking firearms in Idaho.”
“Cisneros-Guzman operated with blatant disregard for the law and for the safety of all Idahoans,” said Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Drugs and violence have devastated too many families in the Treasure Valley. When law enforcement combines resources and expertise, we can take back our communities from dangerous drug traffickers like Cisneros-Guzman.”
“This is another example of the criminality happening in our community that has direct ties to Mexico and the Transcontinental Criminal Organizations that operate with impunity in Mexico and have seriously infiltrated communities throughout the United States,” said Canyon County Sheriff and National Sheriffs’ Association President Kieran Donahue. “Thankfully, here in the Treasure Valley, we have the METRO Task Force and other partnerships with local and federal law enforcement that focus on rooting out this type of criminal behavior.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crimes Task Force for its efforts in this case. The Task Force is comprised of federal, state, and local agencies, including the FBI, the Caldwell Police Department, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, the City and County Narcotics Unit, the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office, the Idaho Department of Correction, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Nafzger and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Manweiler.
The Special Assistant U.S. Attorney was hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership and the State of Idaho to address gang crimes. The Treasure Valley Partnership is comprised of a group of elected officials in southwest Idaho dedicated to regional coordination, cooperation, and collaboration on creating coherent regional growth.
This case was also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.