San Francisco man gets 11 year for transporting drugs in Nebraska

OMAHA, Neb. (KSNB) - A California man has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for transporting drugs through Nebraska.

United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced 42-year-old Esteban Dejesus Huerta Rocha of San Francisco, to a term of 135 months following his conviction for possession of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as cocaine and marijuana, with the intent to distribute. After he completes his prison sentence, Rocha will also serve five years on supervised release.

On Nov. 4, 2021, Rocha, along with Jose Alfredo Ek-Poot and Ricardo Jiminez-Noveno, were traveling east on Interstate 80 near Grand Island when they were stopped by a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol for driving 87 mph in a 75-mph zone. Rocha was the driver, Jiminez-Noveno was the front seat passenger, and Ek-Poot was seated in the back.

When the trooper approached the car, he could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the car and he saw a bag of marijuana inside the car. When troopers searched the car, a mason jar containing marijuana was located in the front-passenger-door compartment. A backpack containing a methamphetamine pipe was discovered on the front passenger floorboard. Rocha was searched and he had a small bag of cocaine in his pocket.

In the trunk, troopers found approximately 8.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 5.5 pounds of marijuana, and 10.8 ounces of cocaine.

Rocha pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022. Ek-Poot is set for a pretrial status conference hearing on Nov. 3. Jiminez-Noveno pleaded guilty on Aug. 30 and is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on Nov. 21.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.