Richfield Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

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A 26-year-old Richfield man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in federal court Tuesday.

Homero Urbina-Chavez has not yet been sentenced but faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to a press release from the Minnesota branch of the United States Attorney's Office, Urbina-Chavez along with Alfredo Cazares-Medina, 40, of Phoenix, AZ, were indicted on April 16, 2012. Cazares-Medina also pleaded guilty to the same charge.

In their plea agreements, both men admitted that between September 2009 and April 5, 2012 they conspired to obtain and distribute methamphetamine to various people in Minnesota. Urbina-Chavez admitted that on March 19, 2012 under the direction of Cazares-Medina, he met an undercover police officer at a carwash in Little Canada, MN where he sold the officer about one ounce of methamphetamine for $1,300.

The release also said that law enforcement affidavits show authorities had been investigating Cazares-Medina for several months in regards to shipments of the narcotics from Arizona to Minnesota. Cazares-Medina sold the drugs to an undercover police officer on several occasions. Urbina-Chavez was with Cazares-Medina during some of those transactions.

Police raided a Richfield "stash house" on April 5, 2012 and found nine ounces of methamphetamine. Both parties were subsequently arrested and charged.

United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz will determine the men's specific sentences at a future hearing that has yet to be scheduled. According to the press release, since the federal system does not have parole, both Urbina-Chavez and Cazares-Medina will serve virtually their entire prison sentence behind bars.