California Man Charged with Heroin Trafficking

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a California man was charged in federal court today with possessing heroin with the intent to distribute, after state troopers found approximately seven pounds of heroin hidden in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

Jose F. Guzman-Pompa, 28, of California, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, a state trooper stopped a 2014 Nissan Sentra (in which Guzman-Pompa was a passenger) on Interstate 70 in Callaway County (at the 140.6 mile marker) for a traffic violation at about 9:13 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2015. Guzman-Pompa told the trooper that the vehicle was owned by his girlfriend; Guzman-Pompa was listed on the insurance as a co-owner.

The trooper, after interviewing the driver and Guzman-Pompa, believed they were involved in criminal behavior. Another trooper utilized his canine, Rocky, to conduct a free air sniff of the Sentra. Rocky positively alerted to the Sentra for the presence of controlled substances.

A trooper searched the vehicle, the affidavit says, and found a package hidden under the seat cover of the driver’s seat. The package contained approximately seven pounds, or 3.171 kilograms, of heroin.

Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.