Allison Perdue, 24, of Seymour Perdue was booked into Bartholomew County Jail on April 28 and released to an undisclosed federal agency the same day. Perdue is facing a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine. Submitted Photo
INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has postponed sentencing for a Seymour woman who authorities say had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney on Tuesday granted a request to postpone sentencing for Seymour resident Allison Perdue nearly two weeks from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9 following a request from her attorney, who told the judge that she had a scheduling conflict, according to filings in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
Perdue’s attorney, Denise L. Turner, requested the delay because she is scheduled to teach at the Indiana Public Defender Council’s Trial Practice Institute from Sept. 23 to 26. Federal prosecutors did not object to the delay, according to the request.
Sweeney had previously granted requests to delay sentencing by Turner, who had sought delays because she believed that “additional assistance from a mental health expert is necessary to prepare for sentencing,” among other reasons, according to court filings.
Perdue is potentially facing life in prison over her alleged role in a conspiracy to transport drugs from the U.S.-Mexico border and distribute them in Bartholomew County and elsewhere.
Last year, Perdue filed a petition to plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to court filings.
Each charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release, court records state.
Federal authorities allege that Perdue and more than a dozen other individuals, including several residents of Bartholomew and Jackson counties, were part of a drug trafficking network that used a number of couriers and mailing companies to transport methamphetamine and other substances from the U.S.-Mexico border to Indianapolis.
From there, the drugs would be handed off to other individuals to distribute in other areas of central and southern Indiana, including Bartholomew and Jackson counties, according to court filings.
Drug Enforcement Administration officials told The Republic in 2022 that the members of the drug trafficking ring were some of the biggest suppliers of drugs in Bartholomew and Jackson counties — including methamphetamine and fentanyl — and had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which experts say controls a wholesale distribution network in the U.S. and elsewhere to get drugs into the hands of local street dealers.
Over the course of the investigation, authorities learned that Perdue was responsible for distributing methamphetamine in southern Indiana, according to her petition to plead guilty.
On Dec. 30, 2021, a co-defendant in the case met Perdue at a Columbus motel to deliver methamphetamine to her, the petition states. About a week later, Perdue distributed 84 grams of methamphetamine to an unnamed individual in Columbus on behalf of Seymour resident Victor Vazquez-Hernandez, who also was charged.
On Feb. 25, 2022, Perdue and Vazquez-Hernandez distributed methamphetamine out of a Columbus motel room, at one point receiving two pounds of the drug from two other co-defendants, who authorities allege were acting at the direction of Ayala-Garcia.
On at least two occasions, two defendants involved in the alleged conspiracy delivered 2 to 3 pounds of methamphetamine to Ayala-Garcia at his place of employment, the SalvaMex restaurant on the east side of Columbus, court records state.
Federal agents executed a search warrant of a room at the Knights Inn in Seymour in the early morning of April 28, 2022, finding Perdue to be the lone occupant of the hotel room, the petition states. During a search of the room, agents seized a backpack that contained 507 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded gun that belonged to Vazquez-Hernandez.
Vazquez-Hernandez was recently sentenced to 10 years, seven months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
