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An undocumented Mexican national faces almost two decades in prison after police found him with nearly 10 pounds of methamphetamine and an assault rifle in his vehicle during an October 2024 traffic stop in Fort Wayne.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Holly Brady sentenced Heriberto Martinez Contreras, 24, of Mexico, after he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor announced Martinez Contreras was sentenced to 19 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, Martinez Contreras led and organized a mission from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne to deliver 10 pounds of methamphetamine for an anticipated $18,000 payday.
Law enforcement intercepted the delivery in Fort Wayne and, after a traffic stop, recovered the drugs along with an AK-style rifle, four high-capacity magazines, and ammunition.
Laboratory testing later confirmed the methamphetamine to be approximately 97% pure, weighing nearly 10 pounds.
“Heriberto Martinez Contreras wanted to sell ten pounds of near-pure poison to those who would distribute it across our communities,” Proctor said in a news release. “And he was willing to take dangerous measures to protect that transaction, as he demonstrated when he armed himself with a style of high-powered rifle best known for its reliability in combat.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Fort Wayne Police Department, the Indiana State Police, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration North Central Laboratory, and the Indiana State Police Regional Laboratory.
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