Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Antonio Sorondo Jr., a 52-year-old resident of Fresno, has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. The sentencing was carried out by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. Sorondo faced charges for conspiring to traffic methamphetamine and cocaine and for illegal possession of firearms.
Court documents reveal that in early 2022, Sorondo conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. On February 1, 2022, when law enforcement attempted to contact him, he fled and discarded a firearm over a fence. Officers later recovered the loaded weapon after apprehending him. Two weeks following this incident, Sorondo was arrested again while possessing two additional firearms and approximately 100 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, along with methamphetamine and cocaine. Due to prior felony convictions, Sorondo is prohibited from owning firearms.
The investigation was conducted by FORT, a multi-agency team involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.), an initiative aimed at reducing the supply of synthetic opioids in high-impact areas by identifying distribution networks and suppliers both domestically and internationally. The Justice Department introduced S.O.S. in July 2018 across ten federal districts including the Eastern District of California.
Additionally, this case falls under an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation which targets high-level criminal organizations through a collaborative approach involving multiple agencies.
Furthermore, it aligns with Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program focused on reducing violent crime through collaboration among federal, state, and local entities to address community-specific issues related to violent crime.
