Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Venetia A. Torres, 44, from Valentine, Nebraska, was sentenced in federal court in Omaha on March 7, 2025. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced her to 192 months for a methamphetamine drug conspiracy and 180 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentences will run concurrently with no parole available in the federal system. Following her release from prison, Torres will serve a five-year term of supervised release.
The investigation began on May 9, 2023, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service searched a USPS Priority Mail parcel sent from Beaumont, California to Broomfield, Colorado. The package contained counterfeit pills with fentanyl weighing 1,075 grams gross weight. Another parcel from the same sender was sent to Valentine, Nebraska with a fictitious return address and recipient.
On June 7, 2023, Venetia Torres attempted to retrieve this package by approaching a postal contractor despite no one being assigned to the mailbox she used as an address. The following day at the North Platte Processing and Distribution Facility, USPIS located the suspicious parcel leading to Torres's arrest after obtaining a federal search warrant revealing approximately 4.5 pounds of methamphetamine inside.
On June 9, 2023, codefendant Aaron Torres and his minor brother were detained at the post office after collecting the methamphetamine package. Venetia Torres later admitted knowledge of this package and two others received earlier on May 22 and May 3 of that year.
During her arrest, officers found a Hi-Point .45 caliber handgun in Venetia's vehicle which she acknowledged possessing despite prior felony convictions prohibiting firearm ownership.
The narcotics were tested at a forensic laboratory confirming them as methamphetamine with a purity of 98%, totaling around 1,700 grams.
Aaron Torres pled guilty to drug conspiracy charges on December 6, 2024; his sentencing is scheduled for March 14, 2025.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service.