Guatemalan National Convicted by Jury of Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession of Cocaine

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that a federal jury in Lincoln, Nebraska, returned a guilty verdict on April 29, 2026, against Jose Garcia Jimenez, 35, of Grand Island, Nebraska. Garcia Jimenez was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine.

Garcia Jimenez, a legal permanent resident originally from Guatemala, faces a potential prison term of up to 40 years and a minimum of five years for each count. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis, who presided over the trial, set sentencing for August 6, 2026.

The evidence at trial established that between at least June 2024 and November 25, 2024, Garcia Jimenez and another individual were working together to sell cocaine out of their residence in Grand Island. In late November 2024, law enforcement intercepted a package in transit to Garcia Jimenez's home that contained two kilograms of cocaine. After that seizure, a search warrant was applied for and granted for the residence. During the search of the residence and throughout the course of the investigation, investigators seized multiple cell phones, three firearms, a large amount of ammunition, scales, drug paraphernalia, psilocyn mushrooms, cash, and an additional half kilogram of cocaine. Garcia Jimenez and the other individual's cell phones were downloaded, and they revealed communication consistent with drug transactions.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol Commercial Interdiction Unit in Omaha Nebraska and the TRIDENT and CODE Task Forces which are made up of law enforcement agencies throughout a 22-county area in west-central/southwest Nebraska and includes the North Platte Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Dawson County Sheriff's Office, Ogallala Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.