A federal grand jury in California has returned an eight-count indictment against Mexican nationals Miguel Alverez Cervantes, 53, Maria Cervantes-Echevarria, 34, and Marta Jiminez Lopez, 26, for their alleged involvement in a methamphetamine and heroin trafficking operation in Tehama County.
The indictment, returned on no specific date mentioned, charges the defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine and heroin for distribution. Cervantes-Echevarria and Lopez are also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
According to court documents, Maria Cervantes-Echevarria and Marta Lopez used their home in Los Molinos as a stash location for narcotics, firearms, and cash. The two women allegedly delivered a spare tire to a third party that was later found to contain approximately 22 pounds of methamphetamine in January 2018. In addition, an undercover agent purchased over three pounds of methamphetamine from Miguel Cervantes during three controlled buys in August and September 2018.
When agents searched Cervantes-Echevarria and Lopez’s home on September 17, 2018, they found three handguns and over $44,000 in cash in the master bedroom. Agents found over 34 pounds of methamphetamine, three pounds of heroin, and an AR-15-style rifle elsewhere on the property.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Land Management, the Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement (TIDE) task force, the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force (SINTF), and the Siskiyou Unified Major Investigations Team (SUMIT), with special assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Highway Patrol.
If convicted of the conspiracy charge or any of the narcotics charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. If convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, Cervantes-Echevarria and Lopez each face a mandatory five-year term in prison, which would run consecutive to any other sentence imposed in this case.
The charges against the defendants are only allegations, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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