'Queen Pin' Lovelia Mendoza sentenced in federal drug case

Up to $146,000 worth of meth. That's what got 39-year-old federal drug offender Lovelia Mendoza back in the eyes of the feds. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Guam back in 2019.

The government asked for a reduction of three months, and made a motion in her 2017 case for helping authorities. Mendoza provided substantial information to them which led to the arrest of former Yona Mayor Jesse Blas.

She faced between 70-87 months behind bars. Defense counsel Louie Yanza tried for 60 months, acknowledging her contribution in her co-defendant Mark Mayo's case. Yanza further stated that his client's life of abuse introduced her to drugs.

"All her loved ones that abused her have led her down this path," he said.

Chief Justice Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, sympathizing with Mendoza, added that she was in fact abused a lot, most especially by loved ones.

Mendoza took the stand, accepting full responsibility for the crimes she committed.

"If only I applied myself with something more positive to help the community... I feel really horrible that I took a part of this road of corruption and the downfall of our community and children," she said. 

She gave her tearful testimony as she noted how she's estranged from her children, and hopes to somehow reconcile with them saying, "I can't give them back the years I've taken away from them . . . I want a second chance and I want to save lives now instead of taking them away."

Mendoza along with co-conspirators Mark Mayo, Daniel Pangelinan and Joseph Roman II were indicted back in November 2019 for conspiring to mail in a package containing over 400 grams of meth from April to May 2018.

Gatewood acknowledged how Mendoza had always taken responsibility from day one, even referred to her as "The Queen Pin," saying she was the most culpable of the defendants reviewed in the investigation.

She was sentenced to 49 months to run concurrently with her 2017 case. Once she has served her time, she will have five years of supervised release to run concurrently.