Twelve Defendants Charged in 5 Indictments with Trafficking Fentanyl and Methamphetamine in the Central Valley | USAO-EDCA

FRESNO, Calif. — Because of to the initiatives of federal and community law enforcement businesses operating with each other in excess of the system of the past 18 months on an investigation targeting nearby felony road gangs in Bakersfield, 12 defendants have been indicted for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, U.S. Lawyer Phillip A. Talbert declared.

On Nov. 17, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment from William Arthur Poush, 43, of Bakersfield Rosa Fernandez, 43, of Bakersfield Timothy Robert Hingston, 39, of North Hollywood Spencer Matthew Hopper, 35, of Montrose and Dale Vincent Perez, 39, of Bakersfield. In accordance to courtroom documents, on Jan. 20, 2022, and Feb. 24, 2022, Poush and Fernandez sold in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine to a private informant. On May possibly 11, 2022, Poush offered about 50 grams of methamphetamine and a amount of fentanyl pills to a confidential informant. On Aug. 13, 2022, Hingston and Hopper distributed around 500 grams of methamphetamine and about 400 grams of fentanyl to Poush, and Poush possessed that very same quantity with intent to distribute. On Aug. 19, 2022, Poush and Perez conspired to have with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, and Perez possessed that similar amount with intent to distribute. And on Sept. 1, 2022, Poush possessed about 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

A federal grand jury returned a 3-count indictment from Bakersfield inhabitants Dale Wesley Hubbard, 49, and Darlene Crystal Viera, 40, charging them with conspiring and distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl. According to court docket documents, Hubbard and Viera sold in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine and around 40 grams of fentanyl to a confidential informant on May well 3, 2022 and marketed above 50 grams of methamphetamine to a private informant on May 25, 2022.

A federal grand jury returned a 3-count indictment against Bakersfield inhabitants Manuel Yanes, 25, and Jorge Luis Yanes, 28, charging them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. In accordance to courtroom files, on June 29, 2022, and on July 22, 2022, Manuel Yanes agreed to sell over 50 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant and Jorge Yanes delivered that same sum of methamphetamine to a private informant.

A federal grand jury returned a four-rely indictment from Bakersfield residents Luis Mauricio Castenon, 33, and Bryan Steven Reyes, 28, charging them with conspiracy to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine. In accordance to courtroom files, on July 16, 2020, Castenon sold about 50 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. On Dec. 10, 2021, Castenon and Reyes conspired to distribute and did distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine to a private informant, and on April 15, 2022, Reyes bought above 50 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant.

A federal grand jury returned a two-rely indictment towards David Garcia, 35, of Bakersfield, charging him with getting a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to courtroom files, for the duration of a traffic quit, officers realized that Garcia was on parole and topic to lookup phrases. A look for of his motor vehicle yielded a stolen, loaded firearm and in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine.

These situations are the merchandise of an investigation performed by Homeland Protection Investigations, the Bakersfield Police Section, the Kern County Probation Section, the Kern County District Attorney’s Workplace, and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the California Freeway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Legal professional Jessica A. Massey is prosecuting the scenarios.

If convicted, the defendants confront different utmost sentences among 10 years and lifetime in jail and $250,000 to $10 million in fines. Any sentence, nonetheless, would be identified at the discretion of the court docket after consideration of any relevant statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Pointers, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations the defendants are presumed harmless until and unless of course established guilty outside of a reasonable question.

This effort and hard work is section of an Structured Criminal offense Drug Enforcement Job Forces (OCDETF) procedure. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the greatest-amount legal corporations that threaten the United States applying a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-company method. More information about the OCDETF Application can be identified at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This circumstance is element of Job Harmless Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing alongside one another all ranges of law enforcement and the communities they provide to minimize violent criminal offense and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everybody. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced a violent criminal offense reduction method strengthening PSN centered on these main principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting group-primarily based businesses that assist prevent violence from occurring in the initial place, setting concentrated and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the outcomes.