Man sentenced for largest drug bust in Mesa County history
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Handcuffed and wearing a brown prison jumpsuit, Ramon Cesena-Valdez, appeared for his sentencing hearing at the Mesa County Justice Center Monday morning.
Mesa County’s DA charged Cesena-Valdez with possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of fentanyl. Back in May of 2023, state troopers stopped Cesena-Valdez on I-70 and stumbled across 100,000 fentanyl pills and 75 pounds of methamphetamine in his car.
In November, Cesena-Valdez accepted a plea agreement with a sentence ranging between eight and 26 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein tells WesternSlopeNow the DA’s office was seeking the maximum sentence.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors wheeled in four carts displaying the fentanyl and methamphetamine seized back in May. Prosecutors also played a video of Cesena-Valdez’s interview with the drug task force after his arrest.
He seemed to acknowledge that fentanyl was causing a lot of deaths and a lot of problems in the community.
Dan Rubinstein, Mesa County District Attorney
After listening to closing arguments, District Court Judge Valerie Robison ultimately sentenced Cesena-Valdez to 25 years in prison. Rubinstein said the DA’s office and the Western Colorado Drug Task Force were pleased with the outcome.
Local authorities will now hand Cesena-Valdez over to the Colorado Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. Whenever Cesena-Valdez, who isn’t a U.S. citizen, becomes eligible for parole, he’ll be deported back to Mexico.
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