SAN FRANCISCO - Nine defendants were sentenced over the last two days for their roles in illegally distributing controlled substances to customers who bought the drugs from illicit Internet pharmacies, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano announced. The defendants...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Tien Le, 47, of Sacramento, was found guilty today of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana following a six-day jury trial before United States District Judge William B. Shubb, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. The...

SPOKANE, Wash. - -Isidro Madrigal-Galvan, 20, and Renee Gomez, 24, both of Moses Lake, Washington, were sentenced on March 20, 2013, after being convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other offenses relating to the operation of a methamphetamine trafficking organization. Madrigal-Galvan was sentenced to more than...

SEATTLE - -A drug trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin from Mexico to Washington state was dismantled today with more than a dozen arrests. The criminal organization spanned a large area of the state with operations ranging from Everett to Vancouver, Washington and from Aberdeen on...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - William Robert Barsanti, 27, of Junction City, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court to growing marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, sheriff’s deputies searched three Trinity County properties owned...

SEATTLE - -The owner of a South Seattle non-profit “club” that hosted Alcoholics Anonymous meetings was arrested last night for illegal distribution of oxycodone. The investigation revealed that the Nomadian Community Resource (NCRC) on South Orcas Street in Seattle was a hub for prescription drug dealing. Michael Martin Shepard, 64...

FRESNO, Calif. - Two large-scale marijuana cultivators pleaded guilty and one was sentenced today in federal court, according to Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. The defendants were involved in separate marijuana cultivation operations in Kern, Kings, and Stanislaus...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho - - Justin Edward Egner, 36, of Springfield, Oregon, the fifth defendant in a multi-state marijuana trafficking operation, was sentenced on March 5, 2013, in United States District Court. Egner was sentenced to 40 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for conspiracy to...

FRESNO, Calif. - Manuel Vasquez, 30, a Fresno bail bondsman who resided in Selma, pleaded guilty today to participating in a long-term methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and aiding and abetting a convicted felon, Edwan Dablan, 37, of Kingsburg, to possess multiple firearms, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce...

FRESNO, Calif. - Operation Mercury, a multicounty marijuana initiative focusing on agricultural marijuana grows, has resulted in the guilty plea today of Christopher Gallegos, 19, of Temecula, and the sentencing today of Ramon Manjarrez Del Vaal, 37, of Sinaloa, Mexico, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C...