Suspect in drug smuggling case pleads guilty
One of the two suspects charged in connection with shipping marijuana and other narcotic products to buyers in other states accepted a plea agreement from prosecutors Wednesday and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
With her attorney Richard Edgar standing by her side during the hearing in Yuma County Superior Court, Jasmine Navarro pleaded guilty to one amended count of attempted possession of marijuana for sale, which is a felony offense.
“Guilty,” replied Navarro — who is out of custody — when asked by Superior Court Judge Brandon Kinsey, who is presiding over the case, how she pleaded to the offense.
In return for that guilty plea, charges of criminal negligence, transportation of a narcotic drug for sale, transportation of marijuana for sale and possession of drug paraphernalia against her were dismissed.
Judge Kinsey talked Navarro through the change of plea, making sure she understood what was happening. He also informed her that the offense she had pleaded guilty to carried a prison sentence ranging from two to eight years and nine months in prison, with the presumptive sentence being 3 1/2 years.
The plea agreement, he continued, did contain a stipulation that she would be sentenced to probation and that she be ordered to pay a fine. Neither the amount of the fine, nor the length of the probation was mentioned during the hearing.
He also explained that the stipulation was not binding on the court — meaning that he did not have to accept it. If the court were to reject the stipulation, she would have the right to withdraw from the plea agreement.
Before accepting the plea, Judge Kinsey asked the prosecutor present for the hearing for the basis of Navarro’s guilty plea, to which she informed the court that Navarro admitted to receiving several wire transfers of payment and that she knew there was marijuana in the house.
Afterward, Judge Kinsey accepted the plea and scheduled Navarro’s sentencing for 8:30 a.m. on July 11.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force (YCNTF) served a search warrant in October at a residence in the 2000 block of South 7th Avenue in Yuma.
When YCNTF members searched the house, with assistance from YCSO K-9 Jax, they found approximately 12.32 pounds of marijuana, which had an estimated street value of more than $167,000, and 3.55 pounds of marijuana edibles, which was estimated at $32,168 in value.
YCNTF members also recovered 28.8 grams of THC wax worth an estimated $1,440, as well as 46 grams of THC oil, worth an estimated $2,300, and additional drug paraphernalia items consistent with narcotic sales. A loaded shotgun was also discovered.
During the course of the investigation, task force members learned that Adrian Humberto Alvarez, who was the suspect of the search warrant, had allegedly been shipping boxes of bulk marijuana and THC oils and waxes to other states throughout the country.
Alvarez’s next court hearing is a for a final pre-trial conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on June 27.