Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Sell More Than Four Kilos of Methamphetamine in Oakland

OAKLAND—Miguel Bedoya pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

In pleading guilty, Bedoya admitted to conspiring with other individuals to distribute methamphetamine in Oakland, California. He admitted that, on September 5, 2012, he met with an individual in Oakland and showed him approximately 4.4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine inside a speaker box in the trunk of a vehicle that Bedoya’s co-conspirator was driving.

The co-conspirator, Hassan Johnny Valenzuela, pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013.

Bedoya, 56, of Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 27, 2012. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code Sections 846, 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(viii), and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of Title 21, United States Code Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(viii).

Bedoya has been in continuous federal custody since October 3, 2012.

The sentencing of Bedoya is scheduled for May 15, 2013, before the Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for violating 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) and 846 is life imprisonment and a fine of $10,000,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Chinhayi Cadet is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jacquelyn Lovrin. The prosecution is the result of a an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oakland Police Department.