All Nine Defendants Sentenced in DEA "Operation Bear Trap"

Wilmington, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that all nine defendants prosecuted in “Operation Bear Trap” have been sentenced to prison. The sentences are the result of a long-term New Castle County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”) investigation spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA”) Drug Trafficking Task Force. The investigation involved wiretaps of five phones, and led to substantial cash, drug, and gun seizures including: more than $1,000,000; approximately 2.5 kilograms of cocaine; approximately one kilogram of crystal methamphetamine; and nine firearms.

The investigation uncovered two drug conspiracies involving overlapping participants. The methamphetamine supplier, Ariel Vergara-Sanchez, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2016 after admitting that he obtained drugs from Mexico so that he and his associates could sell the drugs in the City of Wilmington, the greater New Castle County area, and southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The cocaine supplier, Jamal Maddox, was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison after admitting that he trafficked 16 kilograms of cocaine, possessed four handguns, and stored $968,000 in drug proceeds in his home and at a local bank.

According to court documents, the defendants in this case received the following sentences:

• Ariel Vergara-Sanchez – 144 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release;

• Jamal Maddox – 120 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release;

• Richard Cephas – 66 months of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release;

• Juan Rosas-Guadarrama – 57 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release;

• Luis Bustos – 42 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release;

• Juan Carlos Segura-Lorzo – 37 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release;

• Sergio Flores-Lopez – 36 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release;

• Leticia Beltran – 36 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release; and

• Miguel Martinez – 12 months and one day followed by 2 years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “Operation Bear Trap resulted in the conviction and incarceration of nine drug traffickers who were infecting this community with substantial quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine. I applaud the work of all the federal, state, and local agencies who worked on this investigation and reiterate that this kind of result is a product of the New Castle County HIDTA partnership.”

DEA’s Drug Trafficking Task Force is part of the New Castle County HIDTA, a cooperative effort established in January 2015 among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. This Task Force consists of law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Newark Police Department, Delaware State Police, New Castle County Police Department, Wilmington Police Department, and Delaware Probation and Parole. Other agencies who partnered in this investigation were the Chester County (Pennsylvania) District Attorney’s Office Drug Unit, Kennett Square Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Wilmington SWAT, and Delaware State Police SORT.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer K. Welsh and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe.