Stockton Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years In Prison For Drug Distribution Conspiracies And Possessing A Machine Gun

OAKLAND – Joel Salcedo was sentenced to 151 months in prison for drug and gun charges, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Fallin.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., U.S. District Judge.

The sentencing follows a May 2019 trial in which Salcedo, 37, of Stockton, was found guilty by a federal jury of participating in two overlapping drug conspiracies – to manufacture and distribute 100 or more marijuana plants, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B) (Count One), and to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) (Count Two).  The drug conspiracy charges carried mandatory minimum sentences of five years and ten years, respectively.  Salcedo was also convicted of possession and transfer of a machine gun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o) (Count Three).

Evidence at trial showed that Salcedo was a supplier of marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin to a drug distribution organization headed by co-defendant Oscar Escalante.  During a wiretap on Escalante’s phones in 2016, agents intercepted a series of calls that indicated Escalante ordered and Salcedo agreed to supply, one kilogram of heroin and two pounds of methamphetamine.  Pole camera footage and physical surveillance demonstrated Salcedo delivered the drugs to Escalante on May 16, 2016.  In addition, other evidence proved that Salcedo operated an outdoor marijuana grow at his residence in Stockton, CA.  Salcedo also attempted to diagnose why Escalante’s full-auto Glock pistol was not working properly, by having an associate film him (Salcedo) while he repeatedly fired the gun in his backyard.  

Salcedo was originally charged by criminal complaint on August 17, 2016.  He and twenty-one other defendants were later charged in a Superseding Indictment, which alleged broad, overlapping drug conspiracies, money laundering, and various firearms offenses.  Twenty defendants pleaded guilty, and one defendant remains a fugitive.  Salcedo was the only defendant to go to trial.  The following are examples of substantial sentences imposed in this case to date: 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Riebli and Katherine Wawrzyniak are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Patricia Mahoney and Hector Lopez.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA.  This case was investigated and prosecuted by member agencies of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.