Members of San Luis Obispo County Drug Trafficking Organization Arrested; Inland Empire Man Sought

LOS OSOS, CA—Members of a multi-agency task force this morning arrested four people on federal narcotics charges and seized approximately eight pounds of methamphetamine, announced André Birotte Jr., United States Attorney for the Central District of California; Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Ian Parkinson, Sheriff for San Luis Obispo County.

This investigation that led to this morning’s arrests focused on the drug trafficking activities of Julio Gutierrez, who allegedly orchestrated the sale of narcotics across the Central Coast and to locations outside California. During the investigation, a confidential informant was sent to purchase methamphetamine during undercover operations. Today’s operation was the result of negotiations for the informant to purchase five pounds of methamphetamine. In addition to the four criminal arrests this morning, task force members detained five individuals on potential immigration violations and received approximately seven pounds of methamphetamine.

Gutierrez and Mario Garcia were charged in a criminal complaint filed yesterday in United States District Court in Los Angeles. According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department received information from one its confidential informants that Gutierrez was transporting multiple pounds of methamphetamine across state lines. Gutierrez told that confidential informant that he used materials related to his work as a contractor in Santa Barbara County to hide the methamphetamine. The complaint alleges that Gutierrez told the confidential informant that he and his co-conspirators transported methamphetamine by filling plastic five-gallon buckets approximately 3/4 full with narcotics, and then topping off the buckets with material Gutierrez used in his work re-surfacing roadways. Gutierrez allegedly sold the confidential informant approximately one pound of nearly pure methamphetamine that had been supplied by Garcia. During the investigation, the confidential informant negotiated the sale of five pounds of methamphetamine with Gutierrez, a transaction that took place this morning. When Gutierrez and two others delivered the narcotics, all three were taken into custody.

While executing a search warrant at a residence in Ontario—the location where the one-pound transaction allegedly took place—law enforcement officials arrested the fourth man this morning. Gutierrez and three other defendants were arrested today. The three other defendants are expected to be named in a criminal complaint that will be filed in federal court in Los Angeles. These four defendants are expected to make an initial appearance in United States District Court in Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon. Mario Garcia, also known as Mario Garcia-Mendoza, 32, of Ontario, is a fugitive and is currently being sought by members of the task force. Photos of Garcia-Mendoza are available by contacting the media representatives listed below.

The criminal complaint charges Gutierrez and Garcia with distributing methamphetamine, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and statutory maximum sentence of life in prison if they are convicted.

The case was jointly investigated by the by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The following agencies provided substantial assistance: the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department; INCA (Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force), which is led by the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement; the Riverside Police Department; the California Highway Patrol; and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The federal defendants will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office. The state defendants will be prosecuted by the District Attorney in the county in which they were arrested.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Media Contacts:

FBI: Laura Eimiller: 310 420-6441 (cell)
OR Lourdes Arocho (Spanish Speaker) 310 628-2023 (cell)

United States Attorney’s Office Spokesman: Thom Mrozek: 213 894-6947

San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department: Rob Bryn: 805 781-4547