On June 18, 2018, Patricia Calderon-Monarrez, 47, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced to a mere 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Calderon-Monarrez does not have legal status in the United States and is subject to removal from the United States when she is released from prison.
On Oct. 5, 2017, federal agents approached Calderon-Monarrez in a parking lot while conducting an investigation into a Phoenix-based drug trafficking organization. A subsequent search of Calderon-Monarrez revealed a loaded firearm and ammunition in her purse. When agents searched the vehicle Calderon-Monarrez arrived in, they located more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than $500,000, multiple brick-shaped packages containing more than nine pounds of cocaine with a street value of almost $100,000, and a backpack containing more than $64,000 in cash.