FRESNO, Calif. — Roberto Carlos Leon-Garcia (Leon), 49, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for being in possession of a firearm while being in the United States without lawful status, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian...

FRESNO, Calif. — Armando Rosales Gonzalez, 35, of Tulare; Rogelio Ceniceros Flores, 37, of Jalisco, Mexico; and Carlos Bobadilla, 39, of Tulare, were arrested on May 17, 2023, during a coordinated law enforcement operation and have been charged in a criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Drug...

SEATTLE, Wash.--On April 22, 2023, DEA and its law enforcement partners came together once again to protect our communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country. Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Take Back...

FRESNO, Calif. — Juan Medina, 29, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, in July 2015, Medina, a truck driver acting at the direction of a...

FRESNO, Calif. — Sawtantra Chopra, 76, of Modesto, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other medication, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced. According to court documents, Chopra admitted prescribing drugs — including hydrocodone, alprazolam...

RICHLAND, Wash. – United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Jose Mendoza-Ruelas, 38, to 150 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl, and 5 Kilograms or More of Cocaine. Mendoza-Ruelas...

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Mexican National residing in Marion County, Oregon was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in the 2019 kidnapping and murder of a Washington State man and other drug trafficking crimes. Marcos Alonso Castillo-Bernal, 48, was sentenced to 312 months in federal prison and 10 years’ supervised...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A 37-year-old Seattle man was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joseph Johnson was prosecuted federally as part of Seattle’s Operation New Day –...

SEATTLE, Wash.– Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a year-long national operation, “Operation Last Mile,” targeting operatives, associates, and distributors affiliated with the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels responsible for the last mile of fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution on our streets and on social media. DEA’s top...

TACOMA, Wash. – A Snohomish, Washington, man who was rearrested following his sentencing in a drug trafficking scheme, has now pleaded guilty to new charges, including attempting to hire a hitman to kill a witness in his case, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Michael John Scott, 44, was sentenced in...