South Gate Man ‘Junior’ Dismantled Massive ‘Trap Car’ Trafficking Ring

LOS ANGELES – Joel Antonio Villegas, a.k.a. ‘Junior,’ a 35-year-old South Gate resident, pleaded guilty today to a federal narcotics charge for leading a massive drug trafficking ring that used modified ‘trap cars’ to transport and distribute narcotics throughout the United States.

According to his plea agreement, from at least November 2017 to September 2019, Villegas led a drug trafficking organization that imported from Mexico to the United States kilogram quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and hashish oil. As the conspiracy’s organizer and manager, Villegas picked up the drugs and arranged for their sale to customers or fellow conspirators.

Villegas ordered other conspirators to purchase cars – including BMWs – and modify them by installing hidden trap compartments so other members of the organization could conceal and transport narcotics and drug proceeds on the organization’s behalf. He delegated to other conspirators the coordination of cross-border caravans using couriers and other so-called ‘trap cars’ to pick up drugs – including cocaine and heroin – in Mexico and transport them into the United States.

In September 2019, when law enforcement executed a warrant at Villegas’ residence and called him on his telephone and ordered him to come outside, Villegas set fire to numerous paper journals, including drug ledgers and pay/owe sheets. He also broke several cellphones and other digital devices and attempted to break even more. Villegas admitted in his plea agreement that he willfully impeded and obstructed the administration of justice by doing so.

Law enforcement also recovered $127,307 in cash and jewelry, including three Rolex watches and one golden necklace, all of which were purchased with the organization’s drug proceeds. Additionally, a search warrant executed at a Downey stash house seized approximately 882 grams (1.9 pounds) of heroin, approximately 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of marijuana, and 81.3 grams of hashish oil, as well as a money counter, pill press machine, and drug paraphernalia, among other items.

United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled an August 30 sentencing hearing, at which time Villegas will face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the California Highway Patrol, the Pasadena Police Department, the South Gate Police Department, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigated this matter with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle W. Kahan of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section, Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, and A. Carley Palmer of the Criminal Appeals Section are prosecuting this case.

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