Nine defendants indicted for trafficking heroin and methamphetamine in San Joaquin County
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment today against nine defendants, charging them with various drug and firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott and DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Fallin announced.
The defendants are:
Jose Encarnacion Mayo Rodriguez, 32, of Lathrop;
Sylvia Zambrano, 56, of Lathrop;
Yesenia Lopez, 38, of Lathrop;
Maria Luisa Escamilla-Lopez, 39, of Stockton;
Juan Chavarria, 19, of Stockton;
Juan Ramon Lopez, 39, of Stockton;
Nereyda Alvarez, 32, of Stockton;
Phillip Allen Bailey, 48, of Stockton; and
Charles James Billingsley Jr., 51, of Stockton.
According to court records, Mayo led a drug trafficking organization in San Joaquin County that included several family members and associates. Mayo and his co-defendants met with an undercover agent five times between March and Oct. 2019 and sold undercover law enforcement officers heroin and methamphetamine. Law enforcement seized 28 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of heroin from co-defendant Yesenia Lopez during a traffic stop. On Dec. 5, agents executed search warrants at eight locations, which resulted in the seizure of over 44 pounds of methamphetamine, 10 pounds of heroin, two pounds of cocaine, 10 firearms and $128,000 in cash.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Delgado is prosecuting the case.
This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multi-level attacks on major drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.
If convicted of the most significant charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account several variables. These charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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