Jan. 28, 2010

GRAND JURY INDICTMENT: WICHITA DRUG DOG FOUND 7 POUNDS OF HIDDEN METH

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Jesus Ayala, 24, Oklahoma City, Okla., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 20, 2010, in Sedgwick County, Kan.

Ayala initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Jan. 21, 2010. According to the complaint, a Wichita police officer assigned to the department’s Special Community Action Team was monitoring traffic northbound on Interstate 35 when he saw a 1993 Lexus change lanes, forcing another driver to swerve to avoid hitting it. The officer stopped the Lexus, which was driven by Ayala.

When the officer’s drug sniffing dog, Elza, walked around the Lexus, she signaled the presence of drugs beneath the driver’s door. After the car was impounded, investigators removed the front bumper to find a hollow frame. Hidden in the frame were 3.2 kilograms (more than 7 pounds) of methamphetamine.

If convicted, Ayala faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Wichita Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A federal grand jury meeting in Kansas City, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

Leomar Buenrostro, 34, Lenexa, Kan., is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred from Aug. 1, 2008, to Jan. 13, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million on the conspiracy charge, and a penalty of not less than 20 years and not more than life and a fine up to $8 million on the distribution charge. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken is prosecuting.

Brianna Lynn Jacobson, 26, Assaria, Kan., is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred from Sept. 11, 2009, through Nov. 23, 2009, in Saline and Sedgwick Counties in Kansas.

If convicted, she faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation worked on the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

Javier Ruiz-Barraza, 42, Kansas City, Kan., and Francisco Lubio, 31, Kansas City, Kan., are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 6, 2010, in Wyandotte County, Kan.

If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $2 million. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.

Jeremy D. Beebe, 23, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Dec. 1, 2009, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

Aaron Arthur Cooper, 36, who is in state custody, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after three previous convictions for violent felonies. The crime is alleged to have occurred Oct. 31, 2009, in Shawnee County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

Mario Morales-Payan, 40, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of using false documents to be employed in the United States, four counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of making a false statement on a federal W-4 form, and one count of misusing a Social Security number. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2006, 2007 and 2009 in Rice County, Kan.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Using false documents to be employed: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory two years to run consecutively to other sentences.
Making a false statement to the government: A maximum penalty of 5 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Misusing a Social Security number: A maximum penalty of 5 years and a fine up to $250,000.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

Miguel Aragon-Concha, 35, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Jan. 13, 2010, in Wichita, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.