United States Drug Enforcement Administration

San Francisco –Six San Mateo residents were indicted on various charges involving methamphetamine trafficking announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse, DEA Special Agent in Charge Chris Nielsen, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder. The charges range from possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and have resulted in arrests yesterday at numerous locations in San Mateo during coordinated law enforcement actions.

The six people arrested yesterday were charged in one of four indictments that were unsealed this morning.  In the first indictment, Ricardo Sanchez and Jesus Dario Gutierrez-Ramirez, both 28 years old, were charged along with other defendants in an alleged conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to the indictment, between August 1, 2017 and May 29, 2018, Ricardo Sanchez and Jesus Dario Gutierrez-Ramirez conspired with others to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine.

The second indictment charges Emmanuel Gonzalez Sanchez, 24, and Luis Ramon Zamora Angulo, age 41, with a separate conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. In addition, the indictment charges Angulo with two substantive counts of possessing with intent to distribute and distributing methamphetamine.

The third and fourth indictments are single-count, single-defendant indictments.  One charges Alfredo Angel Enciso Maldonado, 37, with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 17, 2018; the other charges Edwin Alejandro Cervantes Sanchez with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 12, 2018.    

In sum, the defendants face the following charges and, if found guilty, the following minimum and maximum statutory sentences:

All six defendants, except Angulo, made their initial appearances this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James, and each, including Angulo, is scheduled to appear tomorrow for further proceedings to include identifying counsel for each defendant. 

Assistant United States Attorney Sheila Armbrust is prosecuting this case. This case is the result of an investigation by the DEA, ATF, San Mateo Police Department and San Mateo County Sherriff’s Department. This case was investigated and prosecuted by member agencies of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.