Mexican National Sentenced For Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 12:45 P.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
CLEVELAND, OH.- On Monday, December 16, 2024, Ronald Rendon-Luna, 37, a Mexican national living in Painesville, Ohio, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi to 151 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years, following his guilty plea for his role in a drug trafficking organization.
Rendon-Luna previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court and pleaded guilty to the federal charges of Engaging in a Drug Trafficking Conspiracy; Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances; and Being an Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm.
According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office
According to U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko and documents filed with the District Court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Cleveland Division’s Cartel, Gangs, Narcotics, and Laundering Task Force launched and conducted a long-term illicit narcotics trafficking investigation that resulted in the arrest and prosecution of Rendon-Luna and three other co-conspirators, including two individuals with direct ties to the Sinaloa Cartel based in Culican, Mexico.
During the investigation, Federal Agents uncovered that beginning in June 2022 and lasting through January 2023, the leader of the drug trafficking organization, Nefer Ojeda-Elenes, 32, of Upland, California, conspired with Rendon-Luna to utilize residences in Cleveland and Painesville, and two storage units in Cleveland and Middleburg Heights, Ohio, to store illicit narcotics and proceeds from the sale of those illegal drugs.
Rendon-Luna traveled to area hotels to meet another co-conspirator, Cameron Harris, 29, of Dayton, Ohio, who then would distribute the drugs throughout the Dayton, Ohio, area. A fourth co-conspirator, Trino Alexander Briceno-Matheus, 31, of Miami Beach, Florida, also participated in the drug trafficking organization and is known to have met with Rendon-Luna at an area hotel to pick up around $149,640 in proceeds from narcotics sales.
Federal Agents Find Illicit Narcotics And Firearms
During the investigation, Federal Agents determined that the drug trafficking organization was responsible for distributing around 111 kilograms of fentanyl and around 42 kilograms of cocaine during the span of the organization’s drug trafficking activities. During federal court-authorized search warrants executed on the related residences and storage units, Federal Agents located and seized illicit narcotics in the storage units and seized several firearms, including an AK-47 and an AR-15 style rifle from Rendon-Luna’s Painesville home.
“These criminals used their Mexican Cartel connections to bring millions of doses of fentanyl, each one potentially fatal, into our communities and distribute those poisons across our state,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko. “Every day, dangerous drugs like fentanyl and cocaine that these defendants imported and peddled on our streets destroy lives. Those who seek to expand their illegal drug trade to our District should know that we will use all tools available to stop them from endangering our residents’ lives and the safety of our neighborhoods.”
Rendon-Luna’s co-conspirators, Ojeda-Elenes, was sentenced on September 17, 2024, to 228 months in federal prison, Harris was sentenced on August 20, 2024, to 151 months in federal prison, and Briceno-Matheus was sentenced on July 30, 2024, to 30 months in federal prison.
