POCATELLO, Idaho — Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced on Thursday, March 6, that 26-year-old Victor resident Jesus M. Beltran-Zazusta, a Mexican national who unlawfully resides in the U.S., was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Law enforcement officers identified Beltran-Zazusta as the source of supply of methamphetamine for multiple distributors in Teton and Bonneville Counties, per the press release. Officers had previously identified Beltran-Zazusta as the source of methamphetamine for Fredy Munoz-Morales of Victor, in a related incident that occurred in April 2023.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote that law enforcement tracked Beltran-Zazusta as he returned to Idaho after a short trip in California in November 2023. Officers followed him to an Idaho Falls residence belonging to co-defendent Ana Costilla-Delgado and seized a pound of methamphetamine from co-defendent Jorge Hernandez Venegas. The Idaho Falls Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence and found nine pounds of methamphetamine in Costilla-Delgado’s bedroom, per the report.
In January 2024, a federal grand jury in Pocatello indicted Beltran-Zazusta. The Honorable Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Chief Judge Nye sentenced him to nine years in federal prison on March 3. Nye also ordered Beltran-Zazusta to complete four years of supervised release. Beltran-Zazusta will “likely” be deported to Mexico after serving his prison sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chief Judge Nye also sentenced Costilla-Delgado to 12 and half years in federal prison on Jan. 6, Venegas to nine years in federal prison on Dec. 2, 2024 and Munoz-Morales to 12 and a half years in federal prison on June 28, 2024.
