Fifteen Sentenced In Drug Case

Residents Get Combined 76.8 Years In Prison

A federal judge sentenced 15 Springdale residents to a combined 76.8 years in prison Thursday for distributing more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine, according to Conner Eldridge, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

The lead defendants include Celen Zendejas, 27, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and Eberardo Coria-Hernandez, 20, who received 10 years in prison, according to Eldridge.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducted multiple undercover purchases in February 2011 leading officers to obtain a search warrant for a Fayetteville residence. That search yielded about 20 pounds of meth, Eldridge said.

In February, administration agents followed three targets of the investigation to Dallas, where they saw three individuals pick up meth from a stash house. Agents seized 2.2 pounds of meth following a traffic stop.

Through information learned during the traffic stop, officers obtained a search warrant for the stash house, which resulted in a seizure of 83 pounds of meth, Eldridge said. Agents also seized six vehicles, one weapon and about $48,000.

A federal grand jury indicted 15 people in March in connection with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, multiple counts of distribution of meth and money laundering. The defendants later pleaded guilty to the various charges.

At the time of the indictments, an administration official said meth was selling on the street for $85 to $100 per gram.

The convictions came as a result of an investigation known as Operation La Pantera Negra, Spanish for “Black Panther,” which has lasted more than two years and resulted in the prosecution of 31 people. The operation has led officers to seize more than 118 pounds of methamphetamine, more than $82,000, 16 vehicles and 12 guns.

Besides Zendejas and Coria-Hernandez, the defendants, along with their ages and prison sentences by U.S. District Judge Larry Hendren, include:

Wilber Alvarenga, 31, 48 months

Gregorio Carranza, 28, 48 months

Rodolfo Carrillo, 41, one year of supervised release

Porfirio Castro-Ruiz, 47, 27 months

Donna Daosavanh, 24, 37 months

Omar Frias, 30, 42 months

Dianna Gandert, 28, 48 months

Jose Herrera, 26, 60 months

Marlene Martinez, 27, 62 months

Jose Mejia-Machado, 44, 84 months

Tamera Rivera, 31, 30 months

Jeffery Ruano, 26, 12 months

Ana Vaca-Gomez, 34, 87 months

The case was initiated by the Northwest Arkansas Major Investigative Team, which is comprised of local police departments, sheriff’s offices, the DEA and the Arkansas National Guard. Homeland Security Investigations and the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force also assisted.

“Our goal is to make Northwest Arkansas safe from the drug trade and related criminal activity, and this would not be possible without the hard work of federal, state and local law enforcement,” Eldridge said in a news release Thursday.

Washington and Benton counties are considered “high intensity drug trafficking areas,” which receive additional federal money for investigation and prosecution of drug cases.

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