17 Charged in Abilene Drug Bust

Seventeen alleged drug dealers were charged following a large scale drug bust in Abilene on Wednesday, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

The operation involved more than 80 agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the Abilene Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives' Dallas Field Division, and IRS – Criminal Investigations. Over the course of the operation, agents seized 29 kilos of meth, 721 grams of cocaine, 1370 grams of fentanyl, and 60 firearms.

Those charged in four separate indictments unsealed Thursday include:
 

• Diana Nichole Perez, aka Diana Santana, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Orson Rolando Ortegon, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Rafael Perez, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Eddie Ochoa Lomas, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine  
• Angel Alvarez, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine  
• Hannah Rai Gongora, aka Hannah Alvarez, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and possession of firearms (a Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and a Sarsilmaz 9mm semiautomatic pistol missing a serial number) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Jacob Lee DeLeon, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine  
• Jason Eugene DeLeon, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Nathaniel Deal, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Lisa Ann Beckham, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Gloria Santibanez, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Petra Soliz, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Alexandrea Delgado, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Laura Trevino, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Juan Manuel Oliveros, Jr., charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Joseph Brassell, charged with possession to distribute fentanyl
• Joshua Gosson: charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and with possession of a firearms (a Rohm, RG10 Model, .22 caliber short barrel revolver) in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, some defendants face up to life in federal prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and the Abilene Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives' Dallas Field Division, and the IRS – Criminal Investigations. The cases are being prosecuted by the West Texas Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.