California Man Found Guilty for Role in Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

DENVER - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Jesse Cervantes of Merced, California, was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to facts established at trial, the defendant traveled over 1,000 miles to Colorado from California, making numerous intercepted telephone calls to set up a delivery of four kilos of heroin worth approximately $100,000.  He was observed handing a backpack with the four kilos of heroin to a runner, and was subsequently caught by law enforcement a short distance away from the handoff.  When asked to provide his phone number to State Troopers, he provided the same number that was intercepted by law enforcement. 

United States District Court Judge William Martinez presided over the three day jury trial in Denver.  Sentencing is scheduled for November 22, 2023. 

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Colorado State Patrol.  The trial was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Brown and Jeremy Sibert. 

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Case number 20-CR-292