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Press Release

Stanislaus County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

FRESNO, Calif. — Julian Loeza, 33, of Ceres, pleaded guilty today to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in 2020, a team of local and federal law enforcement officers partnered in an investigation into the drug trafficking activities of Julian Loeza and Esmerelda Ceja-Mendez, 43, of Ceres; Sofia Cisneros-Noyola, 37, of Sacramento; and Victor Ramirez, 37, of Atwater. On March 3, 2021, Loeza sold 2 pounds of methamphetamine for $3,600.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio J. Pataca is prosecuting the case.

Ramirez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on May 15, 2023.

Charges are pending against Ceja-Mendez and Cisneros-Noyola; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Loeza is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba on July 17, 2023. Loeza faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Updated April 3, 2023

Topic
Drug Trafficking