Man linked to thousands of fentanyl pills found near Pocatello trail goes to prison; 2 others sentenced in unrelated fentanyl case
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POCATELLO — A Tucson, Arizona, man linked to 3,000 fentanyl pills found stashed near Pocatello’s Lower City Creek Trail has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
Marco Anotnio Osuna, 28, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in January and has been sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Idaho.
Osuna was arrested in August 2021 after Pocatello police responded to calls reporting a man slumped over the steering wheel of a car parked on Jefferson Avenue. The caller told police the man had been there for two hours without moving.
As the officers helped Osuna out of his car, a tooter straw — used for ingesting drugs — fell from his lap. The officers tried to place him in handcuffs, but Osuna kicked and pulled from the officers. Eventually, Osuna was tased and placed in the back of a police cruiser.
Officers then searched his car, finding two loaded guns — a rifle and a pistol — along with 321.94 grams and around 6,000 fentanyl-laced pills. The drugs were sent to a lab for analysis.
According to the DOJ release, Osuna was later connected to a container found on the Lower City Creek Trailhead in July 2021. Inside the container, officers found about 3,000 fentanyl-laced pills.
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When Osuna is released from federal prison, he will be placed on probation for an additional five years.
More sentencings
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also told media that two people in an unrelated fentanyl case were sent to prison.
Levi McGraw, 32, of American Falls, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl. Derek Ross, 41, of Pocatello, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for assisting in the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
McGraw and Ross were arrested in March 2022 when Pocatello police officers and members of the Bannock Area Drug Group Enforcement Squad (BADGES) Task Force initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by McGraw.
While executing a search warrant on the vehicle, officers found 3 pounds of meth, 4,000 fentanyl pills and two firearms.
McGraw was charged with distributing while his passenger, Ross, was charged with assisting in the distribution. Both men pleaded guilty to their charges.
They will be placed on supervised probation upon release.
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