Salinas Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Five Years

SAN JOSE, CA—A Salinas drug trafficker was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison following his guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Raymond Carrasco Lopez was charged by indictment in March 2010 and arrested in Salinas on April 22, 2010 as part of a joint investigation conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Lopez pleaded guilty on Aug. 30 in a plea agreement in which he admitted to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 United States Code section 846.

Lopez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James Ware in San Jose. He is the first of 14 charged federal defendants to be sentenced as part of Operation Knockout.

Raymond Lopez’s co-defendant, Adrian Angel Lopez, is a fugitive charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Anyone with information on the location of Adrian Lopez is asked to contact ATF at (408) 882-5200.

Allison Danner is the assistant United States Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Nina Burney. The prosecutions are the result of joint investigations by the FBI and ATF, with the assistance of other federal law enforcement agencies including the DEA and ICE Homeland Security Investigations; the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement; and local law enforcement agencies including the Salinas Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Further Information:
Case #: CR 10-0236 JW