A Hennepin County judge doled out an unprecedented sentence on Tuesday for a drug crime in Minnesota, sending a methamphetamine kingpin to prison for 30 years.
Pedro "Peli" Ayala-Leyva was found guilty in October of first-degree drug-trafficking conspiracy, stemming from his leadership of a drug network that smuggled meth from California to Twin Cities suburbs. State sentencing guidelines recommended an approximately seven-year sentence, but prosecutors argued for more time behind bars.
"It's good to give the ringleaders and kingpins the significant prison time they deserve," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement. According to the statement, the 30-year sentence was a state record for a drug crime.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Regina Chu noted that the drug ring was expansive, put people at risk and involved smuggling a controlled substance halfway across the country.
Authorities took down the drug ring last winter, charging 20 people after an eight-month investigation that involved wiretaps and surveillance.
It reached a turning point in February, when officers pulled over a red Subaru and discovered a hidden compartment containing 10 pounds of meth.
The county attorney's office said the meth was smuggled from California to Ayala-Leyva's stash house in Brooklyn Park and another location in Cottage Grove. It was then dispersed to St. Paul, St. Cloud and Eau Claire, Wis.
Altogether, 16.1 pounds of methamphetamine -- worth more than $500,000 -- was entered as evidence at Ayala-Leyva's trial, along with two guns.
