Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Mark Garcia, a 25-year-old resident of Lamont, California, has been sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced the sentencing.
Court documents reveal that in March 2021, Garcia and co-defendant Jorge Calderon-Campos, a 44-year-old Mexican national living in Bakersfield, received 26 pounds of methamphetamine from another co-defendant, Alberto Gomez-Santiago, aged 39 and also a Mexican national. The drugs were seized from Garcia's vehicle during a traffic stop by law enforcement officers.
The drug transaction was part of a larger operation involving Calderon-Campos, who was under investigation through a federal wiretap. This investigation led to the seizure of over 86 pounds of methamphetamine and one kilogram of heroin. Additionally, it uncovered an illegal cockfighting ring linked to Calderon-Campos, resulting in further charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
Garcia faced prosecution for the methamphetamine transaction in state court but initially received only four days in jail. In contrast, Gomez and Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and received sentences of four years and nine months and eight years and one month respectively. Calderon-Campos also received an additional five-year sentence related to the animal fighting charges.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Other assisting agencies included the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, Bureau of Land Management, Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Kern County Sheriff's Office, Kern County Probation Department, and Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.
This case was part of efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which aims to identify and dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through coordinated multi-agency operations.
For more information on OCDETF's work: Justice.gov/OCDETF.
