Fresno Man Sentenced to Over 12 Years in Prison for Federal Gun and Drug Charges

FRESNO, Calif. — Antonio Sorondo Jr., 52, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston to 12 years and seven months in prison for conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and cocaine as well as illegally possessing firearms, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, in January and February 2022, Sorondo conspired with others to possess and distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. On Feb. 1, 2022, when law enforcement officers tried to contact Sorondo, he fled and tossed a firearm over a chain-link fence. The officers apprehended Sorondo and then recovered the abandoned, loaded firearm. Two weeks later, a police officer arrested Sorondo in possession of another two firearms and about 100 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Sorondo is prohibited from possessing firearms because of his prior felony convictions.

This case is the product of an investigation by FORT, a multi-agency team composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.