A Stockton man has been sentenced to five years in state prison after authorities discovered a methamphetamine conversion lab operating out of his bedroom, according to a press release from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Jose Andres Garcia-Soto entered a guilty plea on Tuesday to one count of possession of methamphetamine for sale, according to the press release. He also admitted to a weight enhancement for possessing more than one kilogram of the drug.
Garcia-Soto was arrested back in February of last year after a raid on his home in the 2451 block of East Poplar Street in Stockton, the DA’s office said. The raid turned up approximately nine kilograms, or about 20 pounds, of crystal methamphetamine.
The operation involved the METRO Task Force, a multi-agency narcotics enforcement group, and the Stockton Police Department’s SWAT team, the DA’s office said. During the search, a K-9 officer alerted officers to a large bag in Garcia-Soto’s bedroom containing the methamphetamine.
Investigators also found multiple containers of methylsulfonylmethane, commonly known as MSM, in the backyard, the DA’s office said. MSM is a supplement often used for horses, but can serve as a cutting agent, which is a chemical or substance added to a drug to increase its bulk and weight.
In the press release, the District Attorney Ron Freitas emphasised the scale of the operation.
“Twenty pounds of meth is not a ‘street level’ problem; it is a wholesale attack on the safety of our families,” Freitas said. “This defendant was running a chemical refinery in a neighborhood bedroom, turning horse supplements into poison for profit.”
Freitas expressed thanks to the METRO Task Force, Stockton Police, San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and Deputy District Attorney Sean Collins for their work on the investigation and prosecution.
“Today, the lab is closed, the drugs are destroyed, and the manufacturer is exactly where he belongs, behind bars,” Freitas said.
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