March 12, 2015

Dallas-Area Residents Charged with Conspiracy, Drug Trafficking, and Firearms Offenses

DALLAS—Ten Dallas-area residents have been charged with various federal offenses to include conspiracy, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses, including assault on federal agents, announced John Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Several of the defendants, charged in an indictment and in complaints, were arrested following a law enforcement operation on February 10, 2015. During that operation, at a residence in Grand Prairie, Texas, one of the defendants fired an AK-47 at two special agents with the FBI.

The charges are the result of the continuing investigation of the violent drug trafficking organization (DTO) known as the “Goon Squad,” which operated in Dallas. The Goon Squad consisted of numerous individuals, including defendant Jose Pedro Maya. In June 2014, the FBI arrested 10 members/associates of the Goon Squad and those cases are pending in this district. Shortly after those arrests, Maya fled to Mexico, but returned to the U.S. in September 2014. At some point in 2014, Maya split from the Goon Squad and began leading his own drug trafficking organization, the Maya DTO.

Defendants charged include:

  • Jose Pedro Maya, a/k/a “Little Maya,” 21, of Grand Prairie
  • Santiago Reynozo, a/k/a “Santiago Reynosa” and “Pelon,” 21, of Dallas
  • Baltazar Moreno, a/k/a “Chalan,” 39, of Dallas
  • Adrian Reynozo, a/k/a “Adrian Reynoso,” 22, of Dallas
  • Rogelio Lira, a/k/a “Primo,” 25, of Dallas
  • Guillermo Perez, 18, of Grand Prairie
  • Emmitt Herrera, Jr., 46, of Grand Prairie
  • Diego Moreno, 21, of Dallas
  • Jessie Amaya, 19, of Grand Prairie
  • Oracio Ferrer Reza, 34 of Mesquite, Texas

Maya is related to Santiago Reynoza and Adrian Reynozo, who are brothers.

The original indictment alleged the Maya DTO distributed methamphetamine and cocaine in the Dallas area; it also possessed and trafficked in firearms. Like the Goon Squad, it targeted individuals believed to be drug dealers for burglary, robbery, or other acts of violence as those individuals were likely to possess large quantities of illegal narcotics, cash or firearms and would not likely report any offenses by the Maya DTO because of their own unlawful activities.

Defendants Maya, Santiago Reynozo, Baltazar Moreno, Adrian Reynozo and Lira are each charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance—methamphetamine and cocaine. As part of the conspiracy, Moreno cooked methamphetamine and provided it to Maya and the other conspirators. Santiago Reynoza, Moreno, Adrian Reynozo and Lira sold the illegal narcotics outside of the Los Campadres Billiards in Dallas. Maya provided the methamphetamine for these individuals to sell, and he received a portion of the sales proceeds. Maya also sold firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities, and all five defendants possessed firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities.

Each of these five defendants is also charged with one count of using, carrying, or brandishing a firearm during or in relation to a drug trafficking crime; Adrian Reynozo is also charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

In another indictment, Perez and Herrera are each charged with one count of assault on a federal officer, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin. In addition, Perez is charged with two counts and Herrera with one count of using carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Herrera is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Defendants Diego Moreno and Reza each pleaded guilty this week to Informations charging one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Defendant Lira pleaded guilty to a superseding Information charging the same offense. Defendant Amaya pleaded guilty to an Information charging possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Each faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

A trial date of April 20, 2015, is set for the remaining defendants.

According to documents filed in the cases, as law enforcement officers were executing an arrest warrant for Maya at his residence in Grand Prairie, Perez, who was a guest at the residence, grabbed an assault rifle and fired two rounds in the direction of the front door where law enforcement personnel were located. Law enforcement personnel had clearly identified themselves as law enforcement, both visually and orally.

Herrera was also in the residence at the time. He was in the kitchen where law enforcement observed a large quantity of methamphetamine and the water faucet turned on in what appeared to be an attempt to wash the methamphetamine down the sink.

A federal indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. If convicted, however, the statutory maximum penalty for the drug trafficking conspiracy is life in federal prison and millions of dollars in fines. Each firearm conviction carries a statutory penalty of not less than five years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine, and the alien in possession conviction carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The assault on a federal officer offense carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI and Dallas Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl is prosecuting.