PORTLAND — A man caught transporting 124 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk of a car headed north from California, considered the state’s largest single seizure of the drug, was sentenced Wednesday to one year and one dayin federal prison.
The Oregon State Police stopped Gerardo Antonio Ceballos for speeding along Interstate 5 near Eugene on Nov. 21, 2018, smelled the odor of marijuana in his vehicle and searched the car after a police dog indicated drugs were inside.
Police found several bags and luggage containing the methamphetamine in the trunk. The approximately 124 pounds of the drug are valued at about $300,000, according to prosecutors.
Ceballos, now 22, was a teenager at the time. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He served one month and 18 days in custody before he was granted release pending trial.
After he violated his release conditions by changing his address and moving in with his brother without permission, U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta required Ceballos to participate in the Court-Assisted Pretrial Supervision, also known as the CAPS program.
During his 19 months in the program, Ceballos matured and Acosta acted as a mentor who motivated him to make better choices, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis S. Burkhart wrote to the court. Ceballos is now working in construction.
The prosecutor recommended a two-year prison term for Ceballos, citing Ceballos’ performance in the pretrial supervision program, his acceptance of responsibility and lack of a prior criminal record.
“Life is about choices and defendant made a terrible decision to transport a substantial load of methamphetamine,” Burkhart wrote. “Since participating in CAPS, Defendant made the choice to take positive steps in his life.”
Ceballos’ defense lawyer Lisa Ludwig urged no prison time for her client and instead requested a period of supervised release with appropriate conditions to support Ceballos’ “continued law-abiding life.”
At the time of the offense, Ludwig said Ceballos was a homeless teenager living with his co-defendant, Carol Jean Gilbertson.
Gilbertson, who was a passenger in the car, was sentenced in January 2020 to time served plus five years of supervised release. Gilbertson had been a longtime drug addict who, at her time of sentencing, had taken significant steps to get clean and sober after almost 20 years of using, according to court records.
Ludwig argued that supervised release would be more effective in sending a message to Ceballos, who is now in a stable relationship and working. Supervised release would still restrict his liberty but would “not disrupt the place where he is right now,” Ludwig said.
“It took a lot for him to get there,” Ludwig said. “It would be a shame to see all that progress wasted.”
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut imposed the year and a day sentence, which she said will allow Ceballos to get credit for time served. She also allowed him until Sept. 1 to begin serving his sentence.
“I simply can’t give a straight probationary sentence in this case,” Immergut told Ceballos. “It’s too serious an offense for that. … It’s certainly the lightest sentence that I have given for this type of offense, and it’s really due to the progress that you’ve made.”
