Norteños member gets 11 years

A Yuba City member of the Norteños street gang was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to 11 years in prison for drug and gun offenses.

Richard Ramirez, 23, apologized to his family when he was sentenced, said Officer Mike Berndl of the Yuba-Sutter office of the California Highway Patrol.

Ramirez had small quantities of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine when the CHP arrested him April 1, 2006, in Marysville.

When the CHP arrested him again later that month in the Solano area for speeding on Interstate 80, he had more drugs and two handguns, one of which had been stolen in Yuba County, said Capt. Jim Young, Yuba-Sutter CHP commander.

Because of the drug-gun connection, the FBI joined an investigation by the CHP and the Yuba-Sutter Anti-Gang Enforcement unit, or YSAGE.

"Despite possessing a very small quantity of drugs, Ramirez's sentence was elevated to 11 years because of the strict federal penalties imposed when drug traffickers carry guns," said U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott.

The Ramirez case was one of the first federal prosecutions arising from an investigation by YSAGE, which includes the CHP and other Yuba-Sutter law enforcement agencies, said Young.

"Hopefully this will send a clear message to other gang members who choose this lifestyle," he said.

"In this case, federal prosecution gave us the longest sentence possible for Mr. Ramirez," thanks to the FBI and U.S Attorney's Office, said Young.