A massive methamphetamine distribution ring in Joplin, Missouri, has been dismantled, with six family members among 21 defendants indicted for their roles in the conspiracy.
According to a federal indictment unsealed on July 24, 2013, the group, which included Gerardo Hernandez Cazares, Sr., 51, his wife, Leticia Cazares, 51, a citizen of Mexico who is a permanent legal resident of the United States, and their four adult sons, Jose DeLeon Cazares, 28, Gerardo Cazares Jr., 29, Eric Eziquel Cazares, 30, and Abraham Cazares, 24, all of Joplin, was involved in distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in Jasper County, Mo.
The indictment alleges that the group, along with 14 others, participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from July 16, 2012, to June 14, 2013.
Gerardo Cazares, Sr., Gerardo Cazares, Jr., Jose Cazares, Hendrix, Pickel, Ercules, and Gonzalez are variously charged in 22 counts related to distributing methamphetamine.
Gerardo Cazares, Sr., Gerardo Cazares, Jr., Jose Cazares, Eric Cazares, Leticia Cazares, Hendrix, Pickel, Sharp, Thompson, Hernandez, Rodriguez, and Lee are also variously charged in 11 counts related to using a telephone to facilitate the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Jasper County Drug Task Force, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, and the Miami, Okla., Police Department.
Related Federal Cases
- Marcell Shavers, Participating in a Conspiracy to Possess Meth with Intent to Distribute, Missouri 2014 · Kansas
- Michaela Joeanne Hernandez, Meth Conspiracy, Missouri 2017 · Kansas
- Michael Ryan Nevatt, $1M Meth Conspiracy, Missouri 2018 · Kansas
- Theodis Dewan Johnson, Meth and Heroin Conspiracy, Missouri 2018 · Indiana
- Evelyn L. Cooper, Leading Meth, Heroin Conspiracy, Missouri 2016 · Indiana
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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