Sacramento Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joseph Elijah Cuaron, 21, of Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to five years in prison for a fentanyl distribution conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Cuaron supplied approximately 1,000 counterfeit oxycodone M‑30 pills containing fentanyl to two co-conspirators, Joshua Cabanillas, of Woodland, and Gregory Tabarez, 23, of Sacramento, on July 13, 2020, for them to distribute 500 pills to an FBI confidential source. After Cabanillas and Tabarez sold 500 pills to the confidential source, law enforcement stopped them and seized the remaining approximately 500 pills that Cuaron had supplied to them.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, and the Woodland Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Spencer prosecuted the case.

Fentanyl distribution and conspiracy charges remain pending against co-defendants Tabarez and Severo Reyna. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Charges against Cabanillas were dismissed following his death in November 2020.