Federal Judge Sentences Burnsville Man to Seven Years on Drug Charges

Tuesday, a Burnsville man and two other Twin Cities residents were sentenced for conspiring to distribute more than large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced Burnsville resident Jose Hugo Vazquez-Rodriguez, 35, to 87 months of incarceration for distributing 53 grams of meth. 

Davis also ordered lengthy prison sentences for his co-conspirators, both of Brooklyn Center: Marlon Cristobal Ramos-Ortiz, 26, got 63 months and Rosalba Velazquez-Ramos, 47, was sentenced to 108 months.

The group was indicted on March 22, 2011 after a lengthy sting operation that began in the fall of 2010. The three worked a distribution network that drew from various suppliers and distributed to customers all over the Twin Cities area. Unbeknownst to them, there were federal agents among their clientele. The trio sold undercover agents over 400 of grams of meth. During their last transaction in March 2011, the three attempted to buy 15 kilos of cocaine from officers — about $80,000 worth.  

The trio were taken into custody and indicted on March 22, 2011. All three pleaded guilty to the charges.