A Stockton man was sentenced to 16 years in prison Monday for his role in a large-scale operation that distributed methamphetamine across the country, federal prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd handed down the sentence to Jose Manuel Ontiveros Verdugo, 40, for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Another defendant, Jorge Omar Arredondo-Garcia, 47, of Lodi, pleaded guilty to the same offense but has not yet been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento said. Charges are pending against another Stockton man, Alberto Navarro Zapata, 39; as well as Gregorio Ontiveros Verdugo, 42, of Morada; and Wilfredo Reyes, 50, of Manteca.
The case centered on an undercover operation involving the purchase of a total of 11 pounds of meth and a half pound of heroin from the defendants’ drug ring. In addition, agents were able to intercept at least two of the ring’s other bulk meth shipments. They included 50 pounds on its way to Nebraska and 21 pounds headed for Pennsylvania. The crimes took place between July and December 2019, prosecutors said.
When he is sentenced Nov. 24, Arredondo-Garcia faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine.
The case was part of a joint investigation under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.
It was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, San Joaquin County Probation and the Stockton and Tracy Police departments, according to prosecutors.
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