FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Ramon DeJesus Magana, 40, of Paramont, and Maurilio Serrano-Cardenas, 27, of Fontana, charging them with conspiring and possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, Magana and Serrano-Cardenas were arrested on Feb. 21, 2018 after delivering five kilograms of fentanyl and one kilogram of a chemical that is an immediate precursor to fentanyl (4-ANPP) to an undercover officer in Turlock, California. The undercover officer had negotiated to pay $30,000 for each kilogram of the controlled substances.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and TRIDENT, a federally supported task force that is composed of agents from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, Auburn Police Department, Rocklin Police Department, Placer County Sheriff’s Department, Placer County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Land Management, and California National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen A. Servatius is prosecuting the case.
Magana is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on April 6, 2018. Serrano-Cardenas will make his initial appearance on April 19, 2018. Both men have been released on bond.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million dollar 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, which take into account a number of variables. 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
