Five More Plead Guilty to Trafficking Meth in Idaho OCDETF Case

BOISE—U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that five defendants in a large-scale Treasure Valley drug trafficking ring pleaded guilty this week in federal court to drug trafficking offenses. This brings to eight the number of defendants who have pleaded guilty in the case.

Alfredo Dominguez-Villareal, a/k/a Alfredo Vasquez-Dominguez, 29, of Boise, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Nelson Fernando Garcia-Soto, 39, also of Boise, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Delia Garcia-Pineda, 44, of Boise, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Sentencing is set for February 7.

Cynthia Casillas, 24, of Delano, California, pleaded guilty today to money laundering. Juan Carlos Arredondo-Sicairos, a/k/a Victor Kalil Medina-Feliciano, 34, of Delano, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on February 5.

Co-defendants Jimenez Valencia and Alonso Martinez, both Mexican nationals, and Tanna Spencer of Parma, Idaho, pleaded guilty last week to related drug trafficking charges. Valencia and Spencer are set for sentencing on January 22 and Martinez on January 23.

According to court documents, beginning in January 2011 and continuing through December 16, 2011, Dominguez-Villareal and others conspired to possess and distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine in the Treasure Valley and transported methamphetamine from California to Idaho for the purpose of distributing it.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries a minimum term of 10 years up to life in prison, a maximum fine of $10 million, and at least five years of supervised release. The charge of money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, and at least three years of supervised release.

Co-defendant Hector Morales, 29, of Tallamantez, California, is scheduled to enter a change of plea on November 19. Trial for the remaining defendant, Samuel Chavez, 32, of Boise, is set for January 22 in Boise.

The case was the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Boise Police Department and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. The OCDETF program is a federal multi agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. Federal task force members include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and U.S. Marshals Service.