Mexican National Sentenced to 5 Years for Trafficking Cocaine and Possessing Firearms

MILWAUKEE - John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Milwaukee, and U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on Sept. 16, 2024, Jose Resendiz-Gomez, 41, was sentenced to a total of five years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon and illegal alien.

According to court records, in July 2023, agents with the Manitowoc County Drug Task Force arranged to make controlled buys of cocaine from Resendiz-Gomez, a previously convicted felon and Mexican national with no lawful status in the United Sates. In August 2023, officers arrested Resendiz-Gomez after a traffic stop where he was returning from Illinois, having purchased another 600 grams of cocaine to distribute in Manitowoc. A subsequent search warrant executed at his home revealed two 9-mm pistols and 70 rounds of ammunition.

At sentencing, Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach stressed that Resendiz-Gomez's months' long cocaine trafficking and unlawful firearm possession were serious offenses warranting significant punishment and deterrence. The court ultimately imposed a five-year prison term. After completing his sentence, Resendiz-Gomez will face deportation to Mexico.

The case was investigated by the Manitowoc County Drug Task Force, the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, the DEA, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Funnell.