Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Charles Billingsley Jr., a 55-year-old resident of Stockton, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Court documents state that Billingsley participated in a Stockton-based drug trafficking organization between March and December 2019. He regularly obtained and distributed methamphetamine and heroin on behalf of the group. On December 5, 2019, law enforcement officers searched two adjacent residences belonging to Billingsley in Stockton. They seized over 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine, about 30 ounces of heroin, six ounces of cocaine, four loaded firearms, more than $33,000 in cash, as well as more than 52 pounds of processed marijuana and 451 marijuana plants.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, California Highway Patrol, and the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney David W. Spencer prosecuted the case.
"This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America," according to the press release. "HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security."
"Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," officials stated further. "Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."
