CALIFORNIA DRUG TRAFFICKER ARRESTED IN SOUTHERN OREGON SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon

EUGENE, Ore.—A California man with multiple prior felony drug trafficking convictions over more than two decades was sentenced to federal prison today after he was arrested transporting nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine from California to Oregon.

Jose Baldemar Izar, 42, of Lancaster, California, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, in October 2020, investigators from the Douglas Area Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) received a tip that Izar was trafficking drugs from California to Oregon for distribution in the Roseburg, Oregon area. Further investigation revealed that Izar was in frequent contact with several suspected methamphetamine dealers in the Roseburg area and that he was known to drive vehicles rented under another name.

On March 17, 2021, DINT officers learned Izar would be traveling from California to Douglas County. The same day, they stopped a rented vehicle in which Izar was a passenger. Investigators searched the vehicle and located more than 1,700 grams of methamphetamine, a small quantity of heroin, and drug packaging materials.

On March 18, 2021, Izar and a co-conspirator were charged by criminal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Later, on August 19, 2021, Izar and his co-conspirator were charged by criminal information with conspiring with one another to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine. On November 3, 2022, Izar waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge.

This case was prosecuted by DINT and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Formed in October 1989, the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team is a special investigative unit formed to combat illegal narcotics activity in Douglas County. DINT member agencies include Douglas County, including the Douglas County Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices, the Oregon National Guard, Oregon State Police, and Roseburg Police Department.