Columbia, SC 03/27/2024 - Two men from the Midlands and a California man and woman were sentenced after pleading guilty in federal court to their roles in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and a related firearms crime.
Jessie James York, 44, of Lexington, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine.
Andre Alexander Boulware, 46, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine.
Victor Guzman, 30, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Alice Hortencia Velazquez, 30, of Long Beach, California, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence presented to the court showed that from 2018 to 2021, Guzman served as a California-based source of supply for extremely pure “ice” methamphetamine, which was shipped to Columbia, South Carolina. Over the course of the conspiracy, Guzman was responsible for trafficking more than eight kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine to the Columbia area. Velazquez was a California-based facilitator/distributor for Guzman. Boulware received methamphetamine from Guzman and Velazquez and distributed drugs to others, including York.
On Oct. 29, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Long Beach, California home of Guzman and Velazquez. Inside the property and cars parked at the home, law enforcement found approximately two and a half kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine, two 9mm firearms and ammunition. Guzman later admitted he had the firearms because of the dangers involved in drug dealing.
In August 2020, law enforcement in Columbia intercepted two boxes sent to Boulware. Each box contained approximately half a kilogram of “ice” methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed that Velazquez, working for and on behalf of Guzman, had helped Boulware obtain that methamphetamine, and that the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy had been ongoing since at least 2018.
“Illegal narcotics pose a serious danger and public health risk,” said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “As these sentences bring an end to Guzman’s operation, we will continue to prosecute drug traffickers who poison our community.
“Driven by greed, these drug traffickers’ activities posed a significant threat from South Carolina to California,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “The success of this investigation is proof that those destroying our communities with methamphetamine will be brought to justice.”
“These investigations speak volumes of the success we have in apprehending those that put poison in our communities,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. “Multiple agencies working together can defeat the drug trafficking organizations.”
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced all four individuals. Andre Alexander Boulware was sentenced to 135 months imprisonment. Victor Guzman was sentenced to 220 months imprisonment, 160 months on the methamphetamine conspiracy, and 60 months consecutive on the firearm count. Guzman’s 220-month sentence in this case will run concurrent to a 60-month custodial sentence imposed on Guzman by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for his role in an unrelated fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. Alice Hortencia Velazquez was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment. Jessie James York was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Boulware, Guzman and York’s terms of imprisonment will all be followed by five-year terms of court-ordered supervision. Velazquez’s term of imprisonment will be followed by a four-year term of court-ordered supervision.
This prosecution is 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. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was investigated by Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Flynn prosecuted the case.
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