East Bay Drug Kingpin Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Federal Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 30, 2012 |
OAKLAND, CA—An East Bay drug kingpin today was sentenced to 262 months in prison for conspiring to distribute more than 18 pounds of methamphetamine, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.
On March 22, 2012, Ramon Rubio, aka, Jose DeJesus Munoz, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. As a part of his guilty plea, Rubio admitted that between September 2010 and April 2011 he distributed more than 18 pounds of methamphetamine to individuals in Contra Costa County. At the time of his arrest, almost four pounds of virtually pure methamphetamine were recovered from a secret compartment in his car. Rubio managed a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking ring responsible for distributing methamphetamine throughout Contra Costa County.
Rubio, 38, was charged along with 16 other individuals following a long-term wiretap investigation. The investigation culminated in a coordinated sweep of arrests and search warrants executed throughout Contra Costa County in April 2011 and resulted in the seizure of more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine, $86,000 in cash, and 26 firearms.
The indictment against Rubio charged him with one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and three counts of distributing methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii). On March 22, 2012, Rubio pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count.
Rubio has been in custody since his arrest on April 15, 2011.
This federal prosecution was the result of a three-year investigation led by agents of the FBI, the West Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Team, and the San Pablo Police Department.