Convicted meth trafficker sentenced to over a decade in prison
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POCATELLO – A 39-year-old Rupert man was given a long prison sentence Tuesday for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Jose Luis Arteaga was sentenced to 13 and a half years in federal prison, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit.
A federal grand jury sitting in Pocatello indicted Arteaga on March 26, 2024. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 19, 2024.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Arteaga to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.
According to court records, on Aug. 22, 2023, detectives with the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force served a search warrant at Arteaga’s home in Rupert and found 368 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm in Arteaga’s bedroom.
Detectives also found smaller amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl in the room.
Arteaga has previously been convicted of federal drug trafficking and firearms offenses in Idaho.
According to the news release, in 2011, Arteaga was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of an unregistered firearm.
In 2016, he was sentenced to 32 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force, which is made up of detectives from the Minidoka and Cassia County Sheriff’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blythe H. McLane prosecuted the case.