Alleged co-conspirator in meth smuggling plot pleads guilty to drug possession

PORT ANGELES — An alleged co-conspirator in a plot to smuggle methamphetamine into the Clallam Bay Corrections Center has pleaded guilty to drug possession.

Jose L. Orozco, 39, of Rochester pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of possession of a controlled substance in connection with a September ruse to pay a corrections officer to conceal 60.9 grams of methamphetamine inside two burritos.

He was originally charged Sept. 17 with delivery of a controlled substance. Orozco will be sentenced on the drug possession charge Nov. 27.

Orozco is being held in the Clallam County jail on $75,000 bail.

Last week, Arturo A. Ramirez was sentenced to six years in prison for delivering methamphetamine to the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET), in a Sept. 12 sting operation on Ediz Hook.

Orozco accompanied Ramirez to the OPNET-arranged sale, according to the affidavit for probable cause.

Ramirez, 26, of Tacoma pleaded guilty to one count of delivery of a controlled substance.

OPNET Detective Rick Larsen said Orozco and Ramirez traveled to Port Angeles to deliver the methamphetamine to a corrections officer who agreed to wear a recording device when he and Ramirez arranged the sale.

The officer reported to his supervisor that he was solicited by an inmate with gang ties Sept. 5.

Ramirez was arrested when he placed the methamphetamine-stuffed burritos inside an undercover OPNET vehicle.

Orozco fled to the rocks on the north side of Ediz Hook when Ramirez was surrounded by law enforcement, according to the probable cause statement.

“[Orozco] ran over the rocks and tried to hide,” Larsen wrote in the affidavit.

“He was observed by me throwing items in between the rocks on the beach. He was taken into custody without incident.”

The methamphetamine in the burritos had a street value of $4,872 and a prison value of $24,360, OPNET Sgt. Tom Kuch has said.

Orozco will be evaluated for a Drug Offender Sentencing Act, or DOSA, sentence prior to his next court hearing. The state will not recommend a residential DOSA sentence, court papers said.

Orozco’s sentencing range hinges on an offender score that had not been determined Tuesday. A comparability analysis of Orozco’s convictions in California will determine his offender score in Washington, court papers said.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.

More in Crime

Murder trial rescheduled for October

Both sides waiting for forensic testing results

Two investigated for possession of controlled substance

Two Sequim residents were arrested on investigation of possession… Continue reading

Two men are now serving prison time for beating an employee last October at the AM/PM in Carlsborg and attempting to take his wallet. Joshua Pulliam, 28, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 to conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary and will serve a year in prison, while Julian Treat, 30, pleaded guilty Jan. 21 and was sentenced to two years in prison. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Second man pleads guilty to Carlsborg AM/PM burglary

Two-year sentence includes drug treatment, mental health evaluation

Sequim Police investigators report they continue to submit items for DNA and fingerprint evidence to discover person behind the murder of Sequim’s Valerie Claplanhoo in January 2019. (Rebecca Ruby)
Claplanhoo homicide investigation ongoing

Alliance with Missing and Murdered Indigenous team continues

Port Angeles man charged with murder to have hearing Feb. 21

Marquise Gregory Hagans-Moore, who is accused of killing a… Continue reading

Cold case solved through geneology analysis

PA police say DNA links Quilcene man to 1988 sexual assaults

January trial set for men charged with burglary at AM/PM in Carlsborg

Men allegedly assaulted AM/PM employee during October incident

Surveillance footage released by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office shows a suspect allegedly holding a Frugals employee at gunpoint on Thursday. (Clallam County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Frugals robbed at gunpoint

Frugals was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday and law… Continue reading

Deputies seize 36 livestock animals

Dead sheep found on property

Man investigated in coffee stand burglary

A 29-year-old man was arrested on investigation of second-degree… Continue reading

Man accused of second-degree murder pleads not guilty

Trial date slated for May in Clallam County Superior Court

Jefferson deputies investigating male body found in Port Ludlow

Sheriff’s office says autopsy will confirm manner of death