Stockton Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Robert Vargas, 29, of Stockton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 15 years in prison for conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute MDMA, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between August and September 2013, Vargas and co-defendant Robert Guerena, 21, of Stockton, met with an undercover agent on four separate occasions to conduct methamphetamine transactions. Each of these meetings occurred in a Walmart parking lot in Stockton, and with each subsequent meeting, the amount of methamphetamine provided by the defendants to the undercover officer agent increased. On September 19, 2013, the defendants arrived at the Walmart parking lot intending to provide the undercover agent with two pounds of methamphetamine. Before the transaction was completed, both defendants were arrested. In all, the defendants provided the undercover agent with approximately 1.2 kilograms of pure methamphetamine.

A search warrant executed at Vargas’ residence recovered a Glock pistol, 25 grams Ecstasy (MDMA) pills (including packaging), multiple digital scales, multiple gun magazines (including a high capacity magazine), and two bullet proof vests.

On April 23, 2015, Guerena was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Stockton Police Department, and the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Olusere Olowoyeye prosecuted the case.