FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man from Visalia was sentenced to 16 years and six months in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, according to the Department of Justice.

Court documents state 60-year-old James Cox and a third party, led by Cox, received over a pound of meth from co-defendant 31-year-old Renato Aguilera of Porterville after negotiating with former Porterville resident, 43-year-old Pedro Delgado-Montenegro.

Official records reveal Aguilera pled guilty to participating in the drug conspiracy and was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Delgado-Montenegro’s charges are pending.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Porterville Police Department, the Coalinga Police Department, and the Fresno Police Department.