3 from Antioch among 13 indictments targeting East Bay drug trafficking rings
2 more from Pittsburg, 2 from Bay Point
By U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California
SAN FRANCISCO – Thirteen defendants were indicted on narcotics trafficking charges, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Chris D. Nielsen. The indictment follows the arrest of five of the defendants on April 30, 2019, and the execution of search warrants at thirteen locations, including nine residences in Contra Costa County, Humboldt County, Fairfield, Suisun City and Modesto.
Three defendants are from Antioch including 66-year-old Lorenzo Lee, 63-year-old Deborah Polk and 40-year-old Timothy Peoples. Two others from Pittsburg were indicted, 46-year-old Jeffrey McCoy and 38-year-old Deshawnte Gamboa, as well as 57-year-old Anthony Brown and 26-year-old Evan Martinez-Diaz, both of Bay Point
All thirteen defendants were charged in a single indictment which charges controlled substance offenses involving methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and cocaine base. The defendants and the charges pending against them are as follows:
Defendant | Age | Residence | Charges | Maximum Statutory Penalty |
LORENZO LEE, a/k/a “O.G.” | 66 | Antioch, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
Distribution of and Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, Including Cocaine, Cocaine Base, Methamphetamine, and Heroin (Counts 4, 7, and 13-15) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine | |||
JEFFREY MCCOY | 46 | Pittsburg, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
Distribution of Controlled Substances, Including Cocaine Base, Cocaine, and Heroin (Counts 2-7 and 9) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine | |||
ANTHONY BROWN, a/k/a “Ant Man” | 57 | Bay Point, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
Distribution of Cocaine Base 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count 7) | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine | |||
DESHAWNTE GAMBOA | 38 | Pittsburg, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
Distribution of Heroin (Count 9) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine | |||
DEBORAH POLK | 63 | Antioch, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin (Count 15) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine | |||
Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises (Count 16) 21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(2) | 20 years imprisonment 3 years supervised release $500,000 fine | |||
EVAN MARTINEZ-DIAZ | 26 | Bay Point, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Cocaine (Counts 13 and 14) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine | |||
MAGO AGUILAR-PACHECO | 38 | West Covina, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
CESAR ALVARADO | 38 | Desert Springs, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 1) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Heroin, and Methamphetamine (Counts 11-14) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine | |||
JESSE LOPEZ, III | 30 | Fowler, California | Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl (Count 8) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
JOSE DELGADILLO, a/k/a “Tepa” | 41 | Fairfield, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Counts 1 and 10) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
MARCO DELGADILLO, a/k/a “Tonio” | 39 | Fairfield, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 10) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
LUIS TORRES-GARCIA, a/k/a “Guero” | 33 | Rio Dell, California | Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances (Count 10) 21 U.S.C. § 846 | Not less than 10 years imprisonment and up to life Not less than 5 years supervised release and up to life $10 million fine |
TIMOTHY PEOPLES, a/k/a “Tee” | 40 | Antioch, California | Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Cocaine Base (Counts 17 and 18) 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) | Not less than 5 years imprisonment and up to 40 years imprisonment Not less than 4 years supervised release and up to life $5 million fine |
The defendants arrested on April 30, 2019, were originally charged by complaint. The complaints have been unsealed. Eight defendants were charged in complaints that were supported by an affidavit describing the underlying investigation (the Affidavit). In addition, a separate complaint was filed against defendant Timothy Peoples, and that complaint has been unsealed as well.
According to the Affidavit, this investigation started in 2017 and involved the DEA, the United States Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Antioch Police Department, Oakley Police Department, and Concord Police Department. In 2017 and 2018, the investigators used informants to conduct a series of purchases of cocaine, cocaine base and heroin from JEFFREY MCCOY. In furtherance of their investigation, the agents also obtained federal wiretap orders in 2018 and 2019 to monitor communications over telephones used by the conspirators.
According to the Affidavit, the agents also seized significant quantities of narcotics from various defendants during the investigation. The following chart summarizes the seizures, which are discussed in more detail in the Affidavit:
DATE | SEIZED | CIRCUMSTANCES |
5/15/2018 | 4 kg of heroin mixed with fentanyl and $46,000 | Seized from courier after leaving LEE’s residence |
8/8/2018 | 18 lbs of methamphetamine | Seized en route to TORRES-GARCIA from Jose DELGADILLO |
1/26/2019 | 2 kg of cocaine | Seized en route to meeting point with LEE |
2/9/2019 | 7 kg of narcotics and $104,505 | Seized from courier after leaving LEE’s residence |
2/9/2019 | 20 lbs of methamphetamine and 1 kg of cocaine | Discarded from courier’s vehicle after leaving LEE’s residence |
In addition, any sentence following conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by member agencies of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
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