FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
January 23, 2012	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #:  1:11-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, aka Antonio Cuevas, aka Jesus Cuevas Garcia, aka Jesus Jose Rios, 53, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to cultivate, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. He was also ordered to pay the U.S. Forest Service $4,921 to cover the cost of cleaning up the cultivation site. His sentence follows his guilty plea last November.

According to court documents, Garcia was responsible for planting and cultivating approximately 11,105 marijuana plants in Mariposa County within the Stanislaus National Forest. Damage to the land occurred when native vegetation was cleared to plant the marijuana.

Garcia’s co-defendant, Carlos Alcaras-Cuevas, 26, also of Michoacán, Mexico, has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to appear for sentencing on March 26, 2012. Alcaras-Cuevas faces a mandatory prison term of 10 years and a maximum term of life, along with a fine of up to $10 million.

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

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

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