Texas Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Meth Conspiracy

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Texas man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Joplin area.

Israel Belmontes-Cisneros, 34, a citizen of Mexico residing in Sugarland, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 20 years in federal prison without parole.

According to court documents, Belmontes-Cisneros was part of a drug-trafficking organization identified as a major source of supply in the Joplin, Mo., area as a result of a year-long, multi-agency investigation into an international organization based in Matamoras, Mexico, with members across the United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

On July 8, 2015, Belmontes-Cisneros pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Joplin area. Belmontes-Cisneros also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, which originated in the Southern District of Texas but was transferred to the Western District of Missouri.

Belmontes-Cisneros’s girlfriend, Miriam DeLeon, 35, of Brownsville, Texas, also was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to her role in the conspiracy. Miriam DeLeon was identified as the leader of the drug-trafficking organization.

According to court documents, they transported one to two kilograms of methamphetamine per month to Joplin. Miriam DeLeon and Belmontes-Cisneros drove from Texas to Joplin to transport the methamphetamine, which was concealed in laundry detergent boxes. A kilogram of methamphetamine cost approximately $25,000. Drug-trafficking proceeds were transported back to Texas in the same concealment method.

Seven additional Joplin residents have also pleaded guilty. Jack Holguin, 46, Ashley Lynn Mobley, 32, and Eric Allen Meyer, 32, were each sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Jeremy McClean, 33, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole. Brian Stark, 41, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison without parole. Juan Leonardo Simmons, 32, was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison without parole. Billy Duane Henson, 61, was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole. The investigation is ongoing.