The FBI raided this home at 8952 Del Rio Circle in Gilroy early Wednesday morning.
Local police officers helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation serve a drug search warrant this week that resulted in the arrest of a suspected local meth distributor who was part of a lucrative family-run ring spanning the Bay Area, according to FBI and Gilroy Police Department spokespersons.
About 6 a.m. Wednesday, multiple drug enforcement task forces, led by the FBI, simultaneously executed 10 search warrants and 14 arrest warrants at seven homes in San Jose, two in San Francisco and one here in Gilroy, according to FBI Public Affairs Specialist Patti Hansen. A total of 13 people were arrested , she said, and one fugitive remains at large, either in America or Mexico.
Ten defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in San Francisco hours after theirs arrests and another appeared in federal court in Sacramento later that day. All the defendants are all held without bail and will appear in San Francisco again March 12, according to a press release written by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
The Gilroy arrest nabbed David Quezada, 33, at his residence at 8952 Del Rio Circle in north Gilroy, according to Hansen and GPD Sgt. Jim Gillio. Down the street, a family lay sleeping just before 6 a.m. when their mixed Chihuahua, Princess, began barking crazily. Outside in the dark, FBI and GPD cars sat quietly as law enforcement agents prepared to bust through the door of the two-story stucco house, the evidence of which lay scattered across its front stoop Wednesday afternoon.
"Princess woke everyone up," said Mona Rivas, who has lived in the new, tree sappling-filled neighborhood for five years. Hours after the commotion, underneath the afternoon sun, Rivas's granddaughter rode around on her scooter with her younger sister and Princess. She attends Antonio Del Buono Elementary School, where she sometimes plays with the 8-year-old boy who lives in the raided home, Rivas said.
The young boy lives there with his younger sister and an adult couple, Rivas said, adding that she never spoke with the apparent family. Another neighbor farther down the street confirmed Rivas's observations and said the couple at 8952 seemed very nice - "We say, 'Hi!' and 'Bye!' to each other" - but she declined to give her name for fear of retribution
"I just woke up and saw all these cop cars outside. It was so unusual," the woman said. "But I won't judge."
Hansen said the entire drug operation appeared to be familial. Authorities had been investigating the family-led ring for two years. The network was responsible for distributing about 20 pounds of meth, believed to come from Mexico, every month throughout the Bay Area, which has a street value of about $500,000, according to Hansen.
While the two GPD officers who helped execute the search warrant were only briefly a part of the larger 200-member task force, the FBI led the various search teams comprised of the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force, California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Immigration Customs Enforcement and the San Jose and San Francisco police departments. The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney's Office helped with the investigation.
GPD "assisted with a search warrant operation, and once the scene was stabilized, we left," Gillio said. Hansen said she was not sure why GPD was not more heavily involved beforehand, but she did say most of the drug activity occurred in San Jose before distribution up and down the peninsula. Hence SJPD's involvement.
United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced in a press release Wednesday that a federal grand jury in San Francisco had indicted the 14 individuals Feb. 19. During the course of the two-year investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than six pounds of pure meth, the press release read.
The indictment charges one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and seven counts of distribution and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Taken together, the various counts call for minimum prison sentences of 5 to 10 years and range up to 40 years to life imprisonment. The fines range from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000.
The defendants named in the indictment are:
Guillermo Alejandro Zaragoza, 25, of San Jose, California
Eduardo Zaragoza, 24, of San Jose, California
Manuel Corona Contreras, 51, of San Jose, California
Richard Aldo Parodi, 32, of San Francisco, California
Martin Estrada Zaragoza, 43, of San Jose, California
Roberto Zaragoza Ruiz, 29, of San Jose, California
Lorenzo Carbajal, 46, of San Jose, California
David Blake Weld, 43, of San Francisco, California
David Bejines Quezada, 33, of Gilroy, California
Juan Zaragoza, 30, of Stockton, California
Martel Murillo Valencia, 34, of San Jose, California
Angelica Maria Rodriguez, 33, of San Jose, California
Paul Anthony Kozina, 37, of San Jose, California
Irma Corona, 44, of San Jose, California
Chris Bone Chris Bone covers Gilroy government for South Valley Newspapers. Reach him at 847-7109 or e-mail him.
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