Shakopee Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Shakopee man has been sentenced to 160 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession and distribution of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to the evidence presented at trial, law enforcement executed a series of controlled buys of methamphetamine from Saul Rodriguez Pineda, 40, on three separate occasions between September and October 2022. On October 12, 2022, law enforcement searched the residence where Rodriguez Pineda was staying in Shakopee, Minnesota, and found 31 pounds of methamphetamine in Rodriguez Pineda's yard as well as a liquid methamphetamine conversion lab. Law enforcement also found numerous items related to drug trafficking inside the residence.

Following a three-day trial in March 2024, Pineda was convicted on three counts of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On October 30, 2024, Pineda was sentenced by Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force, and the Shakopee Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raphael B. Coburn and Allen A. Slaughter presented the matter at trial.