Phoenix Man Sentenced to Over 10 Years for Drugs and Weapons Charges After Wyoming Traffic Stop
A Phoenix, Arizona, man arrested during a traffic stop west of Casper in late February was sentenced to more than ten years in prison for drug and weapons crimes during a federal court hearing in Cheyenne on Monday.
Giovanny Bustamante Ibarra was sentenced to five months in prison for cocaine possession with intent to distribute, $500 in community restitution, and three years of supervised probation after being released from incarceration, according to U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson.
Ibarra was also sentenced to a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence for carrying guns during and about a narcotics trafficking felony, followed by five years of supervised probation after being released from custody.
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Both sentences had $100 special assessments.
Johnson recommended Ibarra engage in the 500-hour Residential Drug Treatment Program offered by the United States Bureau of Prisons, according to the sentencing hearing minutes.
The grand jury indictment returned on March 13 contained one count of possessing firearms that were not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
On May 1, Ibarra pleaded guilty to the first two counts, and the government agreed to dismiss the third at sentence.
The firearms were confiscated as part of the punishment process.
According to court records, the case began on February 28 when a Wyoming Highway Patrol officer stopped Ibarra’s 2011 Hyundai Genesis with Arizona plates for a suspended registration on Wyoming Highway 220 at mile marker 104 near Bessemer Bend.
During the traffic stop, the trooper deployed his narcotics detection K-9 companion, who alerted to the presence of illegal drugs, and a subsequent search of the car uncovered approximately 17 ounces of cocaine in brick form, two THC vape pens, and the following firearms:
- Anderson Manufacturing’s Model AM-15 multi-caliber short-barrel rifle with a 9.5-inch barrel
- Anderson Manufacturing’s AM-15 multi-caliber short-barrel rifle has a 12-inch barrel.
- Glock 19X comes with a 7.5-inch silencer.
- Glock 23 in.40 caliber pistol
- Ruger Model: AR-556
- According to Local news, During an interview with the DCI agent, Bustamante-Ibarra stated that he purchased the cocaine in Arizona and was traveling to the Gillette region for distribution, claiming ownership of the guns. He had been living in the Gillette area since October, but refused to provide an address and claimed that the two passengers in the car had no involvement with the cocaine.