Home New Orleans Press Releases 2009 Superseding Indictment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in OCDETF “Operation Gator Bait” Case
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Superseding Indictment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in OCDETF “Operation Gator Bait” Case

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 27, 2009
  • Middle District of Louisiana (225) 389-0443

BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney David R. Dugas announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment on Friday, October 23, 2009, in the OCDETF Operation “Gator Bait” case. The superseding indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on September 24, 2009, and placed under seal pending the arrest of three of the defendants charged therein.

JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ, age 31, MARIO ERNESTO ARTEAGA, age 40, and ROBERTO ALCALA TRUJILLO, age 46, residents of Houston, Texas, were arrested in Houston, Texas, on Friday, October 23, 2009. These three individuals were charged in the Superseding Indictment along with the thirteen individuals, including JOSE RICARDO RAMIREZ, brother of JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ, who were charged in the original indictment on August 6, 2008. All but two of the defendants charged in the original indictment have pled guilty. NICK HENRY MARTINEZ and JOSE RICARDO RAMIREZ are scheduled to appear in District Court before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph E. Tyson for re-arraignments on October 28, 2009.

JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ, MARIO ERNESTO ARTEAGA, and ROBERTO ALCALA TRUJILLO were each charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and fifty grams or more of cocaine base. In addition, JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ was charged with illegal use of communications facilities. The Superseding Indictment charges that JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ was one of two Houston “sources” who supplied multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine to defendant WILLIE JONES, JR. (also known as “Gator”) and others in the Baton Rouge area. Defendants ROBERTO ALCALA TRUJILLO and MARIO ERNESTO ARTEAGA are charged with assisting JOSE ANGEL RAMIREZ in the distribution and transportation of cocaine.

The defendants each face a sentence of imprisonment of not less than ten years to a maximum of life, and a maximum fine of $4,000,000.

These charges are a result of “Operation Gator Bait,” an extensive investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) for the Middle District of Louisiana. The OCDETF is a multi-agency task force formed to investigate and prosecute criminal groups and individuals who organize, direct, finance, or are otherwise engaged in high level drug trafficking and related financial crimes. The OCDETF for the Middle District of Louisiana is comprised of agents from the Baton Rouge Resident Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Marshal's Service. Other participating members in this OCDETF investigation included the Louisiana Alcohol, Tobacco Control Board; the Louisiana State Police; the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office; the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office; the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office; the Baton Rouge Police Department; and the Gonzales Police Department. This OCDETF investigation was coordinated by the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, with AUSA Jennifer Kleinpeter serving as the lead OCDETF prosecutor on the case.

The three defendants arrested on Friday were apprehended in conjunction with an 11 month long investigation conducted by federal authorities in the Southern District of Texas that began following the arrest of SUZANNA VOELKER in December of 2008 on an arrest warrant issued from this District as part of the original Operation “Gator Bait” indictment. Authorities in Houston, Texas, located VOELKER at a house on Magnolia Crest Place in Houston, Texas. A search of the house resulted in the seizure of 26.5 kilograms of cocaine valued at more than $500,000, 848 grams of crack cocaine, 1500 pills of 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy), 1000 hydrocodone pills and five pounds of marijuana. Agents also recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition and numerous loaded firearms including semi-automatic rifles; FN Herstal, Model Five-Seven, 5.7 x 28 mm pistols; FN Herstal, Model FS2000, 5.56 mm carbines; 22LR caliber pistols; UZI Model A, 9mm rifles; 9mm sub-machine guns including one with a silencer; a Coharie, Model CA89, 9mm assault weapon; a Smith and Wesson, Model 38-2 Ladysmith, .38 special revolver; a green metallic ammunition box containing an aggregate total of 1,303 rounds of ammunition of various calibers; and 3,132 assorted rounds of ammunition of various calibers.

The Houston investigation has resulted in the indictment of an additional 10 individuals in the Southern District of Texas and additional charges against VOELKER. Four of the defendants in the Houston indictment are charged with firearms violations including dealing in firearms without a license. Six of the defendants are charged with drug related offenses. The investigation also led to the seizure of more than 800 marijuana plants, more than 1100 pounds of cultivated marijuana and more than 20 firearms on Friday.

NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by the defendants. The defendants, of course, are presumed innocent until and unless they is proven guilty at trial.

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