Press Release
California man sentenced to more than 15 years for role in drug distribution operation
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Sixto Marquez, of Paramount, California, was sentenced today to 188 months of incarceration for his role in methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin drug distribution operation, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Marquez, age 46, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances” and one count of “Unlawful Use of Communication Facility.” Marquez admitted to working with others to distribute methamphetamine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin from the spring of 2018 to October 2020 in Monongalia County and elsewhere.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zelda E. Wesley and Sarah E. Wagner prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The FBI's Northern West Virginia Drug Task Force in partnership with the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. The Task Forces have members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; West Virginia State Police; Monongalia County Sheriff's Office; and the Morgantown, WVU, Granville and Star City Police Departments. The investigation was also assisted by the following law enforcement partners: the Monongalia County Prosecutor’s Office; the FBI in Houston, Texas; the Houston Police Department's Multi Agency Gang Initiative; the United States Postal Inspection Service in Houston; and the FBI and DEA in Los Angeles, California.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Updated May 9, 2022
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component