DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Texas

For Immediate Release

Thursday, February 20, 2014
Sarah R. Saldaña
, United States Attorney
Contact: Kathy Colvin

Defendants Sentenced to Lengthy Federal Prison Terms for Roles in Major Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy

DALLAS — Two defendants, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to their respective roles in a major methamphetamine distribution conspiracy operating in Wichita Falls, Texas, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Yesterday, in federal court in Dallas, U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor sentenced Steve Ysasaga, 41, of Arlington, Texas, to 240 months in federal prison. Earlier this week, Judge O’Connor sentenced Roberto Macias, 34, of El Paso, Texas, to 180 months in federal custody.

According to documents filed in the case, on multiple occasions between mid-October 2010 and August 23, 2012, Ysasaga received multi-ounce quantities of methamphetamine from supply sources in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, which he then delivered and distributed to numerous customers in the Wichita Falls area. He also coordinated the manufacturing, or cooking, of the methamphetamine and supplied the individuals who cooked it with the chemical precursors, such as pseudoephedrine tablets, which were needed to manufacture it. Ysasaga admits that during the conspiracy, he possessed with intent to distribute and distributed more than one kilogram of methamphetamine.

On one occasion, in August 2012, when Ysasaga was transporting methamphetamine from his home to Wichita Falls, he was stopped by a Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). After a drug-detection dog alerted on Ysasaga’s truck, a search resulted in DPS seizing nearly 530 grams of methamphetamine that was concealed in a Portable 12v power source. Macias admitted that on multiple occasions between August 24, 2011 and February 29, 2012, he also received multi-ounce quantities from supply sources in the DFW metroplex and distributed quantities of the methamphetamine to numerous customers in the Wichita Falls area. He further admitted transporting and arranging for others to transport methamphetamine from the DFW area to Wichita Falls.

To date, all 39 defendants charged in this conspiracy have entered guilty pleas; all but two defendants have been sentenced.

This Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas DPS; and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary F. Walters is in charge of the prosecution.

Dallas Field Division