Drug Trafficker who hid Kilos of Heroin and Meth in Lakewood Apartment Walls Convicted

            A drug trafficker who came to the attention of law enforcement after his roommate was shot and killed in November 2012, was convicted today following a three day jury trial, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  JUAN HIDALGO-MENDOZA, 33, of Lakewood, Washington was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm/Ammunition.  The jury deliberated about 5 hours.  HIDALGO-MENDOZA faces a mandatory minimum 15 years to life in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton on August 27, 2013.

            According to records filed in the case, emergency crews responded to the Greenwood Apartments on San Francisco Ave. SW, in Lakewood, just before 10 PM on November 12, 2012.  They found Jaime Diaz-Solis with a fatal gunshot wound on the sidewalk outside the ground floor apartment he shared with HIDALGO-MENDOZA.  According to witnesses, they heard a gunshot and later HIDALGO-MENDOZA dragged Dias-Solis from the apartment yelling for neighbors to call an ambulance.  HIDALGO-MENDOZA said he was in his bedroom when the victim was shot by an intruder.  On the night of the shooting a search of the apartment revealed two bricks of heroin weighing over 3 kilos, wrapped in duct tape, as well as an AK-47 style assault weapon.  Investigators also found a revolver in HIDALGO-MENDOZA’s bedroom closet.  Hidden under the seat of HIDALGO-MENDOZA’s truck, investigators found $37,800 in cash.  HIDALGO-MENDOZA was arrested in November for the drug conspiracy as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He has a prior conviction in California for distributing heroin and is prohibited from possessing firearms.

            Two months after HIDALGO-MENDOZA’s arrest, and after the apartment had been rented to a new tenant, law enforcement learned there were additional drugs hidden in the unit.  In the walls they found eight bricks of heroin wrapped in duct tape, and two bricks of methamphetamine wrapped in green cellophane.  The hidden heroin totaled more than 13 kilos and the methamphetamine was nearly 2 kilos.  The wrapping of the heroin was identical to the two bricks seized in November.

            This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.
The case was investigated by Lakewood Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).  The Auburn Police Department assisted with the case.