Marked by brute force and iron will, Marco Antonio Ochoa, a.k.a. Alfredo Ochoa Valladares, the reigning monarch of Oakland’s methamphetamine underworld, has met his match in American justice. Today, the once-feared dealer was sentenced to 132 months behind bars for leading an insidious conspiracy to traffic the dangerous drug across California. United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and DEA Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin announced the sentence, which comes after Ochoa’s guilty plea on January 30, 2017.
According to court documents, the 38-year-old Oakland resident admitted to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute at least 6,334 net grams of methamphetamine. Ochoa’s reign of terror reached its peak on May 24, 2013, when he traveled from Oakland to Los Angeles, returning with a whopping 20 pounds (9 kgs) of the drug and payment in hand. His return trip to Oakland was equally laden with the weight of his crimes as he was soon after tasked with distributing the meth.
But Ochoa’s addiction to power didn’t stop at meth. He also confessed to possessing with intent to distribute approximately 2 kilograms of heroin, a testament to his ambitions in the drug trade. His luck ran out on June 20, 2014, when he was intercepted by a California Highway Patrol officer carrying 2,774 net grams of heroin, bound for distribution.
Ochoa faced a federal indictment on January 16, 2014, charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Today, Judge Edward J. Davila sealed his fate with an 11-year prison term and a subsequent 5-year supervised release. Ochoa has been ensnared in the law’s grasp since his arrest in June 2014.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Backhus led the prosecution team, supported by Ryka Barghi and Ana Guerra, while the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force coordinated an extensive investigation that combined federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts to bring down Ochoa’s empire. The sentencing marks a significant victory in the war on drugs in Oakland.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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