Gary M. Restaino, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona
Jefferson Alejandro Lopez Alcaraz, a 45-year-old resident of Phoenix, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. The sentencing took place on February 13, 2025, under United States District Judge John T. Tuchi. This sentence is to be served consecutively with a current five-year sentence related to another case identified as CR-21-00451-TUC-JCH. His co-defendant, Jaime Solorio-Torres, received a sentence of 57 months in prison on March 20, 2023.
The case stems from an incident on February 1, 2022. On that day, Drug Enforcement Administration agents were conducting surveillance at a Phoenix residence when they observed Solorio-Torres arrive in a Toyota Prius and enter the house carrying a cooler. After meeting with Lopez Alcaraz inside the residence and returning the cooler to his vehicle, Solorio-Torres was stopped by agents who discovered it contained 6.5 kilograms of fentanyl pills.
Following this discovery, agents obtained a search warrant for the residence where they found additional illegal substances including approximately nine kilograms of fentanyl pills and various other drugs such as methamphetamine and Xanax pills. They also seized six firearms—two of which had been reported stolen—and $26,532 in cash along with drug-related documents.
The investigation was carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration's Phoenix East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander from the District of Arizona led the prosecution efforts.
