California Man Sentenced to 75 Months for Large-Scale Cocaine, Methamphetamine Trafficking

A California man has been sentenced to 75 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to sell large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine to Alaska-based drug dealers.

Tomas Gutierrez Ayala, 34, of California, previously pled guilty to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. As part of his guilty plea, Ayala admitted to being personally responsible for the distribution or attempted distribution of ten pounds of methamphetamine.

The conspiracy began in February 2013 and continued until Ayala was indicted in October 2014. Ayala’s involvement came to the attention of law enforcement in July 2013 when ten pounds of methamphetamine was found in his garage in close proximity to mail bearing his name.

Ayala had received the drugs from co-conspirators in Mexico and admitted intending to sell them to an Alaska-based co-conspirator who planned to mail them back to Anchorage for distribution. Law enforcement ultimately seized the methamphetamine before the deal could occur.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Sharon Gleason found it significant that Ayala had intended to sell the drugs not in his home state of California but instead chose to ensure their delivery to Alaska where profits are higher. She also raised concerns about the large quantity of methamphetamine at issue, calling Ayala’s crime a serious offense from which the public needs to be protected.

As part of ongoing efforts to dismantle and prosecute several large-scale drug trafficking rings with ties to Alaska, California, Texas, Arizona, and Mexico, Ayala’s sentencing marks the latest development in a string of indictments returned in late 2014 and early 2015.

Other notable defendants sentenced in the same cases include Timothy Alex, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 108 months in prison; Daniel Harris, an Anchorage drug distributor, previously sentenced to 135 months in prison; and Jorge Armando Zaragoza-Soto, of Mexico, previously sentenced to 96 months in prison for drug trafficking.

RELATED: Meth Kingpin Busted

RELATED: PPP Loan Scam