Oregon brothers sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking

MEDFORD, Ore. – Two brothers were sentenced this week to 10 and 14 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Rogue Area Drug Enforcement Team (RADE).

Marco Antonio Gutierrez, 36, of Grants Pass, received a 14-year federal prison sentence, and his brother, Samuel De La Cruz Gutierrez, 43, also of Grants Pass, was sentenced to 10 years. According to court records, the brothers were arrested last January after RADE Team officers and federal investigators served a search warrant at their residences. During the searches, investigators found nearly 120 grams of actual methamphetamine, 870 grams of heroin, and materials used in their trafficking operation, including packing materials, scales and drug records. Five handguns, a sawed-off shotgun and a rifle with high capacity magazines were seized during the search along with other stolen property.

The brothers were indicted last May and pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2014.

According to prosecutors, Marco Antonio Gutierrez  has multiple felony convictions related to drug trafficking and domestic violence. He still faces charges in California related to a September 2013 traffic stop in which multiple firearms and several rounds of ammunition were discovered in his vehicle. Samuel De La Cruz Gutierrez, a Mexican national, will be turned over to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and placed in removal proceedings when he is released from prison.

The RADE Team is comprised of representatives from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, the Oregon State Police, the Josephine County District Attorney’s Office and Josephine County Community Corrections (Adult Parole and Probation).

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon prosecuted the case.