Man, woman caught with 6 pounds of meth on I-35 plead guilty

Published 9:28 pm Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Two people charged with allegedly possessing six pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle on Interstate 35 in April 2017 have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the Twin Cities.

Maria Antonia Preciado

Maria Antonia Preciado and Manuel Lucio Lara each pleaded guilty to one count of possessing meth with the intent to distribute. Preciado pleaded guilty Friday. Lara pleaded guilty April 25.

Court documents state the two were charged after a Minnesota State Patrol trooper noticed a pickup truck traveling fast at about 8:40 a.m. April 15, 2016, approximately two miles north of the Iowa border, according to Freeborn County court documents. Hernandez was the driver of the vehicle. Lara owned the vehicle.

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A K-9 reportedly noticed the presence of drugs in the pickup, and a check revealed the vehicle’s license plate was read early April 14 on Interstate 40 in Arizona, discrediting their story that they had been driving the last two days slowly from Texas.

Manuel Lucio Lara

Seven packages were reportedly found under a bed liner in the truck. Six of those packages field-tested as a combined six pounds of meth — 2,721 grams.

In pleading guilty, Lara and Preciado admitted knowingly transporting the seized meth to distributors in Minnesota.

Possessing meth with the intent to distribute carries a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence, with a maximum life term. The charge includes a mandatory supervised release period of five years and a fine of up to $10 million.

Sentencing for Lara is scheduled for Aug. 17. Sentencing for Preciado is scheduled for Sept. 28.

A separate count Preciado and Lara faced was dismissed at sentencing.

Preciado and Lara were charged in Freeborn County, but those charges were dismissed once they were charged at the federal level.

About Sam Wilmes

Sam Wilmes covers crime, courts and government for the Albert Lea Tribune.

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