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Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
Grand jury indicts five on drug charges
Suspects connected to alleged meth lab in Hilmar.
FRESNO -- Five men were indicted in federal court Thursday on drug charges connected to an alleged meth lab in Hilmar.
A grand jury returned a five-count indictment charging suspect Jose Guadalupe Tejeda, 30, Jesus Gutierrez Virelas, 27, Jose Gabriel Perez Coranel, 32, Javier Rodriguez Baldovinos, 45, and Jorge Cornelio Quiros, 33, with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown.
The suspects were also indicted on counts of manufacturing, distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and an asset forfeiture count, Horwood said.
Merced Sun-Star - Jose Gabriel Perez Coranel
The Merced County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting two associates of the organization on state narcotics charges stemming from the same investigation, Horwood said. Those defendants are Jose Chavez Hernandez, 32, and Pedro Mendez Valencia, 36.
The charges stem from an investigation launched earlier this year by the Merced/Mariposa High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). Prosecutors say court-authorized wiretaps reveal the suspects bought chemicals and items capable of making large amounts of meth and were responsible for the distribution and sales of the drug throughout the Central Valley, Bay Area, Sacramento, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
The HIDTA task force executed search warrants on Sept. 18 at locations in Merced County associated with the organization. In Hilmar, agents discovered a lab capable of producing up to 24 pounds of meth per cook, Horwood said,
Investigators seized over seven pounds of crystal meth, as well as two semiautomatic rifles and a shotgun. All defendants, except for Coranel, remain in custody, Horwood said. On Thursday a federal judge issued a no-bail arrest warrant for Coranel.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum of life in prison, along with a maximum fine of $4 million.
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