Stockton Methamphetamine Traffickers Charged
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today against Stockton residents Jose Curiel, 35, and Roberto Tostado-Cadenas, 43, charging them with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Curiel and Cadenas arranged to sell 115 pounds of methamphetamine to a law enforcement informant. Curiel and Cadenas met with the informant at a public parking lot in Stockton. They told the informant that they had staged the methamphetamine in different cars located in the parking lot. Prior to the drug transaction being completed, law enforcement stopped three of the cars in Curiel’s entourage. Inside of one of the vehicle, law enforcement found 37 pounds of methamphetamine.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, the Stockton Police Department, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, both defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life years in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, 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 a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
