FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, November 29, 2012

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today charging Enrique Rodriguez, 29, of Delano, and Timothy J. Butler, 24, of Long Beach, with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute it, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court records, a Bakersfield police officer stopped a vehicle driven by Butler. Twenty-five pounds of methamphetamine were seized from the trunk of the vehicle. Butler’s telephone contained text messages indicating that the drugs were to be delivered to Rodriguez. Rodriguez was arrested and a search warrant was executed at his residence in Delano. At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez was in possession of a loaded Beretta handgun. During the search of Rodriguez’s residence, agents seized an additional pound of crystal methamphetamine from a vehicle in the garage that was registered to Butler, along with $36,000 in United States currency.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bakersfield Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Southern Tri County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Kathleen A. Servatius is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. Any sentence, however, would 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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