ANOTHER 'COCAINE COWBOY' TO PRISON

Thanks to the joint investigation efforts of the Combined Ozarks
Methamphetamine Elimination Team (C.O.M.E.T.) and the Missouri State
Highway Patrol, another person has been sentenced as part of
"Operation Cocaine Cowboys," which charged 36 federal defendants with
illegal drug trafficking and firearms' sales in southwest Missouri.

The infamous "cowboys" distributed drugs in Webster County, as well as
in many other counties.

According to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Todd
Graves, Julio Sanchez-Villagran, 28, an illegal alien from Mexico who
was living at the Los Amigos Trailer Park in Carthage, was sentenced
Jan. 28 by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to 15 years in prison
without parole.

"Sanchez-Villagran was a significant player in the illegal drug
trafficking and firearms' sales investigated in Operation Cocaine
Cowboys," Graves said.

"After his indictment, Sanchez-Villagran fled to Iowa and continued
selling methamphetamine in that state until he was arrested by
officers with the Louisa County Sheriff's Department," he added.

Last Sept. 28, Sanchez-Villagran pleaded guilty to charges contained
in three separate indictments resulting from the investigation. He
admitted he was in possession with intent to distribute at least 50
grams of methamphetamine. Law-enforcement officers found 359 grams of
meth in his apartment, Graves said, when he was arrested on Nov. 25,
2002.

Graves explained that Sanchez-Villagran was sentenced to 10 years in
federal prison without parole on that violation -- to be served
concurrently with the other narcotics violation sentencings.

Sanchez-Villagran also admitted that he participated in a conspiracy
to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. He provided cocaine to
others for resale as part of an agreement to distribute cocaine in
Jasper and Lawrence counties from November 1999 to Nov. 25, 2001,
Graves said.

He sold cocaine to undercover officers on at least three occasions.

Graves explained that Sanchez-Villagran was sentenced to six years and
six months in federal prison without parole on that violation -- to be
served concurrently with the other narcotics violation
sentencings.

He also admitted that he distributed meth and cocaine, and he was in
possession of a firearm in furtherance of the distribution of meth. He
sold a Magtech .22-caliber rifle and $500 worth of meth to two
undercover law-enforcement officers in Carthage on Jan. 11, 2001. On
two separate occasions in January 2001, he sold meth and cocaine to
officers at the Los Amigos Trailer Park.

He also sold a Bryco Arms .22-caliber pistol, a Heritage Rough Rider
.22-caliber revolver and 50 rounds of Remington .22-caliber ammunition
to undercover officers at the parking lot of the Joplin Flea Market on
Jan. 13, 2001.

Graves said Sanchez-Villagran was sentenced to two years and nine
months in federal prison without parole on each of those narcotics
violations -- to be served concurrently with the other narcotics
violation sentencings. He also was sentenced to five years in federal
prison without parole on the firearms' violation -- to served
consecutively with the narcotics violation sentencings -- for a total
of 15 years in federal prison without parole.

Operation Cocaine Cowboys focused on an organization of individuals
who were allegedly responsible for the delivery and distribution of
multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and
other drugs from sources in California, Texas and Guatemala. As
charged in a series of federal indictments and federal criminal
complaints, Graves said 36 federal defendants allegedly distributed
illegal narcotics, primarily in Jasper County, but also in Webster,
Christian, Greene and Lawrence counties. About 26 other people,
including adults and juveniles, face a variety of state charges in
related cases as a result of Operation Cocaine Cowboys.

Of the 36 federal defendants, Graves said 32 have been convicted and
two remain as fugitives.

Charges against two defendants were dismissed in favor of state
prosecution.

Other law-enforcement agencies involved in Operation Cocaine Cowboys
were the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Jasper County Drug Task Force, Mid-States Organized Crime Information
Center, the U.S. Marshal's Service and the Carthage Police Department.

Sheriff's departments in Webster, Greene, Christian, Jasper and Stone
counties, as well as the Joplin, Springfield, Oronogo and Webb City
police departments, assisted in the operation.