(Fremont County, WY) – Ethete man Collie Warren was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment for the charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine at his sentencing hearing held today, August 22, before the Honorable Chief District Judge Kelly H. Rankin in Cheyenne.
Warren was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and to pay $500 in community restitution, as well as a $100 special assessment fee.
Warren was charged/sentenced after a federal Warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with a drug operation involving two Mexican nationals who had been determined to be distributing drugs on the Wind River Reservation. (Those two Mexican nationals, Oscar Espinoza Duarte and German Ortiz-Esparza, have since been sentenced as well.)
Court documents state that on February 6, Warren arrived at Espinoza’s residence in Kinnear, and later left with a red-colored item/package in his hands.
Agents maintained surveillance on Warren and followed him to Ethete, where he parked at a convenience store parking lot and entered the store, but when he left, he got into the passenger side of a different vehicle.
From outside of Warren’s truck, which was still parked at the store, Agents were able to observe the red package (determined to be a red Budweiser beer box), which had a clear baggie containing a crystalline substance consistent with methamphetamine inside.
Agents later discovered two baggies inside the box, which contained approximately one pound of methamphetamine each, court documents also informed.
About two months after a warrant for Collie’s arrest was issued and with no leads, the FBI went on to offer a $5,000 reward in April for information that could lead to his detainment. He was arrested two days later.
Warren later pled “not guilty” to the charge back in April, however, a non-public plea agreement was filed on his behalf on June 2, and a change of plea hearing was set, leading to today’s sentencing.
You can view County 10’s complete coverage of the case here.