By: Derek Hawkins//November 12, 2019//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: United States of America v. Reynold De La Torre, et al.
Case No.: 18-2009; 18-2218; 18-2286; 18-3303; 19-1299
Officials: FLAUM, SYKES, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Consolidated Appeals – Sentencing
The Zamudio drug organization distributed pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine through‐ out the Indianapolis, Indiana area. At the top sat Jose Zamudio, who imported the drugs from his suppliers in Mexico and oversaw his network of distributors here. Reynold De La Torre, Christian Chapman, Jeffrey Rush, and Adrian Bennett were four of those local distributors. Maria Gonzalez was Zamudio’s live‐in girlfriend. Besides permitting Zamudio to store and traffic drugs out of her home, Gonzalez helped launder Zamudio’s drug money and wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mexico and California.
Zamudio, Gonzalez, De La Torre, Chapman, Rush, and Bennett all eventually pleaded guilty and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Each separately appealed on different grounds, and we consolidated the appeals. We affirm the sentences of Gonzalez, De La Torre, and Bennett. We vacate the guilty pleas of Chapman and Rush and remand for further proceedings.
Vacated and remanded