Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Alberto Gonzalez Salgado, a 45-year-old resident of Sacramento, has been sentenced to 13 years and one month in prison. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on Thursday. In addition to the prison term, Salgado was ordered to forfeit $100,000 to the government. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced these developments.
Court documents reveal that Salgado engaged in trafficking activities involving fentanyl pills, heroin, marijuana, and firearms during 2019 and 2020. On several occasions, he sold heroin and fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills as well as illegal short-barreled rifles to a confidential source. Furthermore, Salgado operated a stash house in Sacramento where he cultivated over 100 marijuana plants and kept a firearm for protection of his drug trafficking operation.
In October 2020, when law enforcement attempted to arrest him during an attempted fentanyl pill deal, Salgado fled from authorities. This led to a high-speed vehicle chase lasting over an hour and a half on public roads, posing risks to both law enforcement officers and the public.
The investigation leading to this case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration with support from multiple agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; the Sacramento Area Intelligence/Narcotics Task Force; and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer prosecuted the case.
This case is part of efforts under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which aims to identify and dismantle significant criminal organizations threatening the United States through a collaborative multi-agency approach driven by intelligence and led by prosecutors.
