PERLA ICELA CUEVAS LUGO SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on August 21, 2006, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, PERLA ICELA CUEVAS LUGO, a 33-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, California, appeared for sentencing. LUGO was sentenced to a term of:

* ? Prison: 210 months

* ? Special Assessment: $100

* ? Supervised Release: 5 years

LUGO was sentenced in connection with her guilty plea to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On August 29, 2005, a confidential informant for the Great Falls Police Department began negotiating with LUGO to obtain methamphetamine for distribution in Great Falls.

On August 31, 2005, LUGO, who lived in California, told the informant that she would be driving from California to Great Falls and would bring the him one pound of methamphetamine.

On September 6, 2005, LUGO advised the informant that Kaylee Henry would be driving some of LUGO'S associates from California to Great Falls. LUGO told the informant she wanted him to engage in methamphetamine trafficking with one of the associates who would be coming to Montana with Henry.

On September 7, 2005, the informant met with two of LUGO'S associates, Jose Antonia Lugo Mendoza and Jose Huerta. The informant paid Mendoza $10,000 in exchange for one pound of methamphetamine as part of a controlled purchase of the drug. The informant then gave the methamphetamine to law enforcement officers following the purchase.

The substance tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine and weighed 464.5 grams.

Later on September 7, 2005, law enforcement agents searched Henry's Great Falls residence. Agents recovered twelve, one-ounce packages of a substance which tested positive for methamphetamine.

Henry would have testified that she and a companion, Bruce Bissonette, had driven with Mendoza and Huerta from California at the direction of LUGO. Henry also would have testified that she did so in order to be paid by LUGO with money or methamphetamine.

Henry, Bissonette, Mendoza and Huerta pled guilty and were sentenced on federal drug charges.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LUGO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LUGO does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph E. Thaggard prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Great Falls Police Department.