FRESNO, CA - Five defendants were charged today in two separate indictments for their involvement in marijuana cultivation operations in Kern County, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. “These indictments represent the product of an ongoing multi-agency enforcement effort spanning six counties in the Central Valley and intended to stem...

FRESNO, CA - A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today charging John Simpson, 56, of Squaw Valley, with cultivating marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court records, Simpson received notice in April that...

CINCINNATI, OH - Teams of local law enforcement officers and federal agents this morning arrested seven people charged in complaints filed in U.S. District Court alleging that they conspired to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The crime carries a punishment of at least ten years and up to...

SEATTLE, WA - Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration sent notification letters to the operators and property owners of 23 marijuana store fronts located in school zones. The letters informed the owner/operators that such enterprises operating as “dispensaries” within 1,000 feet of a school, playground or other prohibited area could result...

ANCHORAGE, AK - On June 20, 2012, Brackston Moores, 32, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin. Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Beistline imposed the sentence on Moores. According to information presented to the court, Moores conspired with Anchorage co-defendants Ryan...

BOISE, ID. - Miguel Beltran-Marquez, 35, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced on June 14, 2012, to 188 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Beltran-Marquez to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and to pay a $1,000...

OAKLAND, CA - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Scott O’Briant presented more than $1.2 Million to the Hayward Police Department, Southern Alameda County Narcotics Enforcement (SACNET), Livermore Police Department, Vallejo Police Department and the...

FRESNO, CA - Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment today charging Desidoro Sanchez Solorzano, 34, of Madera; Jose Antonio Sanchez Reyes, 24, of Clovis; Eliodoro Cerato Martinez, 28, of...

FRESNO, CA - United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner and U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams announced that a federal grand jury in Fresno returned an indictment today charging Sergio Hector Aguilar, 45, and Oscar Arellano Iniego, 54, both of Bakersfield, of conspiring to distribute...

BOISE, ID. -- - Francisco Cardona-Rodriguez, 38, of Rio Grande City, Texas, was sentenced in federal court December 12, 2011 to 37 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to manufacture/distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants. Cardona-Rodriguez was also ordered to forfeit assets. He pled...