Angel Lopez, Methamphetamine and Firearms Trafficking, California 2020

A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against two members of a firearm and drug trafficking conspiracy in Southern California.

Angel Lopez, 47, of Southern California, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, while Rochlem Eric Aquino Yadao, 48, of Santa Maria, was found guilty of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, according to Acting United States Attorney Michele Beckwith.

The jury delivered the verdicts after a three-day trial, which highlighted the conspiracies involving Lopez and Yadao in trafficking drugs and guns respectively.

According to court documents and evidence produced at trial, Lopez negotiated the sale of 5 pounds of methamphetamine in March 2020 and directed others to complete the deal. The methamphetamine was packaged in five individual plastic bags, with two of the bags containing ‘blue’ methamphetamine.

In a separate incident, several individuals conspired to deal firearms without a license in Fresno, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. Agents seized firearms and ammunition from four different gun deals between March and August 2020. In April 2020, members of the firearm dealing conspiracy arranged for the sale of two AR-style rifles at Yadao’s residence in Santa Maria. The guns were ‘ghost guns,’ and did not have serial numbers.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Justice, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno Police Department, and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

Lopez and Yadao are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on August 25, 2025. Lopez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. Yadao faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

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