Eleven Defendants Convicted For Involvement With Battle Creek Drug Trafficking Organization

Final Two Defendants Convicted After Four-Day Trial

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that on December 4, 2020, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against two defendants following a four-day trial in Kalamazoo: Ricardo Mercado-Lozano, also known as Heriberto Diaz-Lozano and Eddie Diaz, a citizen of Mexico and resident of Greenwood, Indiana, and Stacey Parcell Gibson, a resident of Battle Creek. These two defendants are among eleven total defendants who have been convicted for their respective offenses in furtherance of a drug-trafficking conspiracy spearheaded by co-defendant Andrew Bravo of Battle Creek. Bravo’s drug-trafficking organization distributed kilograms of cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, and quantities of heroin, fentanyl, MDMA or ecstasy, and kilograms of marijuana, in and around Battle Creek and Kalamazoo between May 2017 and December 2019. Bravo pleaded guilty to the drug-trafficking conspiracy on June 4, 2020 and was sentenced to 264 months in prison on October 5, 2020.

          Mercado-Lozano, a self-admitted associate of the Sinaloa cartel, was a regional supplier of kilograms of cocaine and quantities of crystal methamphetamine to Bravo, who further distributed the controlled substances to other individuals in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. Gibson obtained cocaine from Bravo and re-distributed it to customers in Battle Creek.

          In announcing the convictions, U.S. Attorney Birge stated, “These convictions are the result of a long-term, multi-agency investigation into the drug trafficking of Andrew Bravo and his co-conspirators, who distributed cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana, among other controlled substances, into the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo communities for years. The U.S Attorney’s Office is committed to bringing traffickers of dangerous drugs to justice no matter how long it takes. Our local communities are now safer with these individuals off the streets.”

          “As part of a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) long-term transnational criminal organization investigation, there are now eleven convicted for their role in conspiracy to smuggle and distribute deadly drugs across Western Michigan," said Vance Callender, Special Agent in Charge of HSI for Michigan and Ohio. “HSI used its network of agents and assets stationed across the U.S. and in foreign countries to dismantle this pipeline into the Midwest from Mexico. Multiple foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies helped perfect this investigation and raise the security profile of our borders.”

          HSI and the Battle Creek Police Department (BCPD) began the investigation into Bravo’s drug-trafficking organization in mid-2017, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Michigan State Police (MSP), Emmett Township Police Department, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, St. Joseph Police Department, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, and Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office.

          “Undoubtedly without the support, direct cooperation, and capability of this joint effort, of local, state, and federal assistance, these crimes against our community would have continued to cause harm and needless victimization,” stated Jim A. Blocker, Chief of Police, City of Battle Creek Police Department.  “I am grateful to seek support, get it and achieve remarkable success. We continue to develop into a better and more capable organization, at every opportunity when we work together,” said Chief Blocker.

          Keith W. Martin, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Detroit Division stated: “These convictions are the result of a wide-ranging investigation into this multi-state drug trafficking organization. Our partnership with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies was essential in bringing these two poly-drug traffickers to justice. DEA remains committed to keeping these illegal and destructive drugs out of our communities.”

          In December 2019, during the arrests of the defendants and execution of associated search warrants in this case, federal and state investigators seized quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, over a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, over 50 pounds of processed marijuana, over 300 marijuana plants, other controlled substances, three handguns, and over $50,000 in drug proceeds. The eleven defendants, their crimes of convictions, and sentence information are as follows: 

          This prosecution, dubbed Operation After Hours, was 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. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel T. McGraw and Vito S. Solitro.

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