Juan Paredes

Federal prosecutors have charged an Arizona man already facing similar charges in Butler County related to receiving methamphetamine in the mail at a Cranberry Township home.

Juan Paredes, of Phoenix, was charged in February in the county after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service notified state agents of a suspicious package intended for delivery to a home on Landis Avenue in Cranberry Township.

And on Tuesday, it was announced that Paredes has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of attempting to violate federal narcotics laws. He also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The grand jury indicted Paredes for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. Convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

The federal announcement cites the Butler County investigation as the source for the charges.

According to the original investigation, on Jan. 28, a package with 2.2 pounds of crystal methamphetamine was being mailed to a residence in Cranberry Township. But law enforcement intercepted the package before it could be delivered.

The package was submitted for testing and the contents were found to have a net weight of over 890 grams of which about 96% is methamphetamine hydrochloride

Authorities replaced the drugs with a substance that looked like the drugs. They sprayed it with a fluorescent powder that is visible only under ultraviolet light.

The substitute substance was then sent to the Cranberry home, where Paredes allegedly took the package inside.

Shortly afterward, a device inside the package alerted state agents from the Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigations that it had been opened.

According to documents, a search warrant was executed moments later, and authorities found Paredes near the opened package with the fluorescent powders on his hands and face when he was lit with the ultraviolet rays.

According to federal guidelines, if Paredes is found guilty, he faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, a fine of $10 million, or both. His sentencing would be affected by his criminal history and other factors.

In the county case, Paredes faces charges of possession with intent to deliver and conspiring to possession with intent to deliver.

The conspiracy charge stems from Paredes' alleged partner in crime.

According to the filing in the county case, Cruz Antonio Lozoya-Ramirez, 27, of Phoenix, was in the house at the time of the package delivery and also was charged in the case. The federal case does not mention Lozoya-Ramirez.

Paredes is in Butler County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond. His county case remains active.

Lozoya-Ramirez has been released from jail after posting a $100,000 bond and his case also remains active.