Clearwater Drug Distributor Sentenced To More Than 15 Years In Prison

According to information presented during Ramirez’s sentencing hearing, in 2011, Ramirez was convicted in state court (Pasco County) for trafficking cocaine. After serving more than three years in state prison, Ramirez—also known as “Dientes,” “Cha-Ching,” and “Ching”—resumed selling large amounts of drugs, distributing kilogram quantities of methamphetamine, as well as smaller amounts of heroin and cocaine for years before he was ultimately arrested in this case. By the time Ramirez’s Spring Hill, Florida-based, Mexican cartel-affiliated suppliers were arrested in April 2019, Ramirez had sold at least 40 kilograms of highly pure methamphetamine over the previous five months.

In December 2020, United States District Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced each of Ramirez’s suppliers, Adan Barajas Maldonado and Juan Carlos Arias Castillo, to 25 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.