JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to transport nearly 15 pounds of meth through Colorado back in January, according to a release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Jose Chavez Tellez was handed down the sentence in Jefferson County District Court on Monday.
On January 2, 2018, Chavez-Tellez and his wife Rhonda Chavez-Tellez, 52, were traveling eastbound on Interstate 70 through Jefferson County when the couple decided to stop at a truck stop on Ward Road and 44th Avenue.
Shortly after leaving the truck stop, Chavez-Tellez struck a curb and popped both tires on the passenger side of his vehicle, the district attorney’s office said.
A nearby Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped to offer aid, and later discovered 14.65 pounds of methamphetamine divided into 15 quart-sized Ziploc baggies inside the car.
Further investigation revealed that the couple lived in Kansas and were making a drug run to and from Los Angeles. Investigators also discovered that Jose Chavez-Tellez was in the country illegally and had a prior deportation in 1990, the district attorney’s office said.
Police said the street value of the meth was estimated to be $350,000.
Prior to Monday’s sentencing, Jose Chavez-Tellez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance - a felony.
Rhonda Chavez-Tellez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on September 19, and was sentenced to six years in prison.
