SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned three indictments today, separately charging three men with trafficking methamphetamine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Assistant United States Attorney Jason S. Hitt is prosecuting the cases.
Alejandro Ortiz-Salas, 37, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with three counts of distributing methamphetamine. According to court documents, Ortiz-Salas sold methamphetamine in the Sacramento area in 2004. After a criminal complaint was issued charging him with distribution, he fled from the Eastern District of California. He was apprehended in December 2014 near the border between Texas and Mexico and brought to Sacramento. This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team. Docket #: 2:15-cr-026 GEB
The following two cases are the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Glenn Interagency Narcotics Task Force, and the California Highway Patrol. Sergio Carrillo-Raygoza, 20, was charged with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, on Jan. 21, 2015, Carrillo-Raygoza was stopped by law enforcement in Glenn County for a traffic violation. Two pounds of methamphetamine was found in his vehicle. Docket #: 2:15-cr-024 KJM
Ulices Beltran, 21, was charged with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, on Jan. 21, 2015, a traffic stop of Beltran resulted in the seizure of two pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle. Docket #: 2:15-cr-025 KJM
If convicted, all three defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
