Ernesto Madrigal, a/k/a Tiger, a/k/a Tigre, is going away for five years after admitting his role in a Bay Area methamphetamine distribution ring that moved pounds of poison across the East Bay. The 28-year-old Alameda County resident was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge James Donato, capping a case built on text messages, undercover buys, and a web of drug deals tied directly to Madrigal’s phone.
Madrigal pleaded guilty on May 9, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, a charge stemming from multiple transactions in early 2020. According to court records, on March 5, 2020, Madrigal texted a confidential informant with details for a drug drop. He arranged for a courier to deliver five pounds of methamphetamine in Emeryville, Calif., on March 6—cutting out one pound for a $1,250 sale. That same day, an undercover officer and the informant took possession of over 1,350 grams of meth-laced substance from the courier Madrigal had coordinated.
But the March deal wasn’t the end. Madrigal pitched more. He approached the informant again, asking if they wanted counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl—deadly doses disguised as prescription meds. On April 24, 2020, he set up another sale: 250 fentanyl-laced pills, ready for street distribution. All the while, he dangled the prospect of 10 additional pounds of meth, proposing a profit-sharing scheme where the informant would sell on his behalf and kick proceeds back to Madrigal.
The feds struck hard. A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Madrigal on April 29, 2021, on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and (b)(1)(C). With evidence piling up—from call logs to courier coordination—Madrigal had no choice but to plead guilty. The plea agreement laid bare his central role in the conspiracy, exposing a calculated effort to flood neighborhoods with high-volume narcotics.
At sentencing, U.S. District Judge James Donato imposed the 60-month prison term and tacked on three years of supervised release post-incarceration. Madrigal, already in custody, was remanded immediately—no delays, no reprieve. The judgment reflects the federal crackdown on mid-level traffickers who serve as linchpins in larger drug distribution chains.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Weingarten and Joseph Tartakovsky, with support from trial attorney Linda Love. Led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the investigation ran under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)—a federal hammer aimed at dismantling high-level drug networks through intelligence-driven, multi-agency force. Madrigal’s conviction is one more knot cut in the Bay Area’s underground drug web.
Related Federal Cases
Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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