FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
November 7, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:1-cr-200-AWI

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and U.S. Forest Service Special Agent in Charge Scott Harris announced that Jesus C. Garcia, aka Antonio Cuevas-Corio, 53, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to cultivate, distribute and possess marijuana with intent to distribute it.

According to court documents, Garcia was responsible for planting and cultivating approximately 11,105 marijuana plants in Mariposa County within the Stanislaus National Forest.

Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on January 23, 2012 by Chief U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. Garcia faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Co-defendant Carlos Alcaras-Cuevas, 26, also of Michoacán, Mexico, has pleaded not guilty and is next scheduled to appear in court on December 12, 2011 for a status conference. The charges against him are only allegations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Both Garcia and Alcaras-Cuevas have been in custody since May 26, 2011, after having been ordered detained as a flight risk and danger to the community.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service and the Mariposa County Sheriff's Department. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.

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