SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment today against Jose Luis Romero, 53; Salvador Padilla III, 38; and Eberardo Mendez, 50, all of Sacramento, charging them with distributing methamphetamine and conspiracy to do the same, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court records, an undercover agent met with Romero on three occasions in December 2017 and February 2018 to purchase methamphetamine. Surveillance units saw Romero meeting with Padilla before and after each transaction, and court documents allege that Padilla was supplying Romero with the narcotics for each meeting. Court records also allege that Mendez served as a courier for two of the meetings, taking at least two pounds of methamphetamine from Padilla to Romero to facilitate the undercover purchases. In all, law enforcement bought over three pounds of methamphetamine from Romero directly during this investigation.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration with special assistance from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
If convicted of any of the charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence 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 several variables. These charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
