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Published July 07, 2009, 06:40 AM

Appeals panel rejects appeal in drug case

A federal panel has rejected the appeal of a woman sentenced to life in prison for leading a drug conspiracy in the Red River Valley. Francisca Avila Vargas, of St. Paul, Minn., was convicted by a Fargo jury in 2006 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say the operation involved at least 15,000 grams of methamphetamine.

FARGO (AP) — A federal panel has rejected the appeal of a woman sentenced to life in prison for leading a drug conspiracy in the Red River Valley.

Francisca Avila Vargas, of St. Paul, Minn., was convicted by a Fargo jury in 2006 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say the operation involved at least 15,000 grams of methamphetamine.

Vargas argued that prosecutors did not have enough evidence to show the amount of meth. She also said her trial should not have been joined with another defendant, Miguel Garcia.

In rejecting her case, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the evidence against Vargas was overwhelming and she got a fair trial.

Vargas is the mother of Lee Avila, of East Grand Forks, Minn, who was killed in 2005 in another major drug case known as Operation Speed Racer.

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