Two men pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sacramento to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
The pleas by Sergio Murillo-Valencia, 37, and Fabian Figueroa-Ayala, 29, both of Gilroy, follow earlier guilty pleas in the case by Sacramento residents Roberto Bermudez-Ornelas and Martin Solorio, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Charges are pending against five other defendants .
According to court documents, on Aug. 19, 2010, investigators searched a house in Gilroy where they found more than 610 pounds of crystal methamphetamine spread through nearly every room of the residence. Figueroa-Ayala was in one of the four bedrooms along with more than $300 in cash, ledgers detailing a significant number of methamphetamine transactions, two cell phones and more than 68 pounds of methamphetamine.
Murillo-Valencia was in another bedroom with more than $10,200, in cash and a Mexican driver's license that had his picture on it but with a different name. Also in the room were three ledgers and some loose ledger sheets detailing a number of methamphetamine transactions, nine cell phones, a laptop computer, a firearm and ammunition, and three money transfer receipts. Other ledgers were found throughout the house, authorities said. The ledgers detailed the distribution of more than 3,300 pounds of methamphetamine in less than five months.
Murillo-Valencia and Figueroa are to be sentenced June 12 by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Bermudez-Ornelas and Solorio are scheduled for sentencing April 3.
The case resulted from investigations by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and the California Department of Justice.
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