United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Six Indicted for Fresno and Madera County Methamphetamine Distribution Ring
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lauren Horwood |
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December 22, 2011 |
PHONE: (916) 554-2706 |
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www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae |
usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today charging Desidoro Sanchez Solorzano, 34, of Madera; Jose Antonio Sanchez Reyes, 24, of Clovis; Eliodoro Cerato Martinez, 28, of Madera; Omar Guerro Hernandez, 22, of Madera; Carlos Giovanni Baez Rosa, 32, of Fresno; and Enrique Zarate, 35, of Fresno, with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
According to the indictment, between October 31 and December 1, 2011, the six defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Madera and Fresno Counties. An affidavit filed in the case asserts that Solorzano obtained methamphetamine from Mexico and arranged for Reyes, Martinez, and Rosa to deliver drugs and drug proceeds at his behest and sold drugs to Hernandez.
As a result of the investigation, agents seized more than $182,000 in drug proceeds, more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine, and two pounds of cocaine.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Fresno Methamphetamine Task Force and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The Fresno Methamphetamine Task Force is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiative (HIDTA), consisting of law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement; California Highway Patrol; Fresno Police Department; and the Sheriff's departments of Fresno, Madera and Merced Counties. Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen A. Servatius is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a $10 million fine, and a five-year term of supervised release. If convicted, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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