Santa Rosa man arrested with 73 pounds of meth gets 18-year prison sentence

A Santa Rosa man was handed an 18-year prison sentence Friday for weapon and drug offenses related to a 2022 bust, authorities said.

Under guidelines implemented in a 2016 voter initiative, Proposition 57, and because he is classified as a nonviolent offender, Jose Vega Sanchez will be eligible to be considered for parole after serving three years of his sentence, Assistant District Attorney Brian Staebell said in a news release.

Vega Sanchez was arrested in October 2022 after Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies searched his home — near Guaymas Court and North Dutton Avenue in Santa Rosa — and discovered 73 pounds of meth separated into 1-pound bags, as well as a handgun.

Authorities said the methamphetamine had a street value of $150,000 and corresponded to 165,000 individual doses.

In exchange for his sentence, Vega Sanchez pleaded no contest to two felonies: being a felon in possession of a firearm and transporting methamphetamine, Staebell said.

He also admitted to possessing more than 44 pounds of meth.

According to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website: “Proposition 57 does not create a right for nonviolent offenders to be released from prison. It gives the Board (of Parole Hearings) the authority to review eligible offenders in prison and, if they no longer pose an unreasonable threat of violence or threat of significant criminal activity, approve their release to community supervision.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jeremyhay