United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON - DEA Special Agent Joseph Piersante today became the first-ever member of DEA to receive the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom - . Piersante was struck by enemy gun fire while on a counter-terrorism and narcotics mission in Afghanistan in 2011. The Defense of Freedom...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned two separate indictments today charging a total of six defendants with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. In the first case, Jose Acosta, 34, Jorge Rios, 39, Jose Luis Aguilar, 49, Diego Velazquez, 29, and Feliciano Ochoa Reyes, 30, all Mexican nationals, were charged with...

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The U.S. Attorney’s Office has distributed a portion of forfeited narcotics proceeds to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield Police Department, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. The final payment was made this month. In total, the Sheriff’s Office received $595,037.92, and the Police...

FRESNO, Calif. - David Arreola, 29, of Michoacán, Mexico, was sentenced today to seven and a half years in prison for conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana grown on public land and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the conspiracy. According to court documents, Arreola...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a single-count indictment on Thursday against Jonathan Arturo Alvarez, 25, of Bakersfield, charging him with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. According to court documents, on April 2, 2015, a California Highway Patrol officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle driven...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment Thursday against Donnie Phillips, 56, of Concord; Gordon Miller, 57, of Clayton; and Phyliss Mosher, 51, of Vallejo, charging them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and related methamphetamine trafficking charges. According to court documents, between June 2014 and February...

FRESNO, Calif. - Mark Jeff Zeldes, 53, of Broomfield, Colorado, was sentenced today to three years and eight months in prison for a conspiracy in California to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Zeldes was also ordered to forfeit over 300 pieces of equipment used for the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment today against Lagranger Jones, 36, and Lamonte DeShannon Rush, 45, both of Sacramento, charging them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and methamphetamine distribution. According to court documents, between October 2014 and February 2015, Jones and Rush sold methamphetamine during...

WASHINGTON - The United States Drug Enforcement (DEA) today issued a nationwide alert about the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues/compounds. Fentanyl is commonly laced in heroin, causing significant problems across the country, particularly as heroin abuse has increased. This alert was issued through the multi-agency El Paso Intelligence (EPIC)...

FRESNO, Calif. - Miguel Marquez, 30, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to 14 years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill also ordered Marquez to forfeit over $30,000. According to court documents, an investigation indicated...