Judge Sentences Las Vegas Man for Trafficking 12 Pounds of Meth

A Las Vegas man will spend more than 15 years in federal prison for trafficking a dozen pounds of methamphetamine after being caught near Buffalo, according to federal court records and a press release from the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office.

Salvador Nolasco Romero, 39, heard the sentence handed down from U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne on Wednesday.

Johnson sentenced Romero to 188 months for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and 188 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, with both sentences to be served concurrently, or at the same time.

Johnson also ordered him to serve five years of supervised probation after his release from custody and pay a $200 special assessment.

The federal grand jury indicted Romero on Sept. 21, 2022,

A jury found him guilty on both counts on June 2.

On the same day of his sentencing, he filed a notice of appeal with the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The case started on April 2, 2022, when a co-conspirator was driving a SUV erratically near Buffalo, which drew the attention of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, according to trial evidence and court documents,

Troopers obtained a search warrant and searched the SUV, in which they found 12 pounds of methamphetamine.

Romero had rented the SUV in Las Vegas, provided the co-conspirator with the methamphetamine, and instructed the co-conspirator to transport it from Las Vegas to Minnesota for distribution.

The trial evidence further showed that Romero had conspired with another individual in Mexico to transport the methamphetamine to Minnesota for distribution.

The Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office's press release did not identify the co-conspirators.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol investigated this crime.