Selma Meth Dealer Found Guilty
U.S. Attorney’s Office July 01, 2010 |
FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that, yesterday afternoon, after 30 minutes of deliberations, a federal jury in Fresno found Ricardo Enrique Vega guilty of possessing crystal methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Vega, aka Javier Martinez, aka “El Guero,” 36, is an illegal alien from El Salvador, formerly residing in Selma.
This case is the product of a Fresno Methamphetamine Task Force investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Karen Escobar and Alyson Berg prosecuted the case.
The evidence at trial established that Vega, a convicted drug felon, negotiated with an undercover detective to sell crystal methamphetamine to him for distribution in Washington State. Vega was arrested after providing two pounds of crystal methamphetamine, worth more than $35,000.
Because Vega was previously convicted in Los Angeles of a drug felony involving cocaine, he faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 20 years, a maximum prison term of life, and a fine of up to $8 million. He is also subject to deportation.
Senior District Judge Oliver W. Wanger who presided over the jury trial scheduled sentencing for September 13, 2010.
The Fresno Methamphetamine Task Force is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area initiative (HIDTA), consisting of law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement (BNE); California Highway Patrol (CHP); Fresno Police Department (FPD); Fresno County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO); Madera County Sheriff’s Department (UCSD); and Merced County Sheriff’s Department.