TOPEKA, KAN. – In a major blow to the state’s narcotics trade, three California residents were convicted on drug charges Thursday during a federal jury trial in Topeka, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
The defendants, Raymond Alcorta, 41, of Downey, Calif., Adrienne Lopez, 27, of Pico Rivera, Calif., and Angela Marie Lopez, 35, of El Monte, Calif., were found guilty of various drug-related offenses.
Raymond Alcorta was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Adrienne Lopez and Angela Marie Lopez were each convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The case against the trio began to unravel in June 2013, when Adrienne and Angela Lopez were arrested in Seward County, Kan., after they were caught hauling approximately four pounds of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Kansas City.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the Lopez sisters were part of a larger drug trafficking organization headed by Raymond Alcorta.
Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial that tied the defendants to a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Crabtree presided over the trial, which ended in guilty verdicts for the three defendants.
The defendants now face sentencing on February 9, 2014. According to federal sentencing guidelines, they could face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in prison, as well as a fine of up to $10 million.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi for their work on the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Kansas
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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