Jose Luis Sosa-Almontes, 47, an immigrant illegally in the United States, was sentenced by United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty to 210 months (17 years, 6 months) in prison, on drug trafficking charges. Sosa-Almontes is subject to deportation after serving his sentence.
On January 21, 2020, law enforcement agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Monroe, Louisiana were contacted by DEA in Houston, Texas in reference to methamphetamine being transported from Houston to Atlanta. DEA agents had information that Sosa-Almontes was the transporter and would be traveling through the Monroe area.
Deputies with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office stopped the vehicle which Sosa-Almontes was driving for a traffic violation and found him to be the lone occupant inside. When asked for his driver’s license, Sosa-Almontes provided a passport from Mexico but stated he did not have a valid driver’s license. Deputies asked for consent to search his vehicle and a K-9 officer positively alerted on a generator in the bed of the truck. Deputies located nine individually wrapped bags that contained approximately nine kilograms of methamphetamine. The bags field tested positive for methamphetamine.
Sosa-Almontes was illegally in the United States, having previously been removed at or near Laredo, Texas on September 12, 2012.
The DEA and Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.
