6 metro Atlanta area men sentenced for roles in drug trafficking organization
The U.S. Department of Justice announced six defendants from the metro Atlanta area were sentenced for the parts they played 'distributing deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine' throughout the region.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, all six men were involved in trafficking and distributing drugs from Mexico to the Atlanta area.
'These defendants distributed substantial amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine with no regard for the grave public safety risk,' Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. said.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Federal agents began investigating a drug trafficking organization in 2022 when they learned a Mexico-based supplier was moving narcotics like methamphetamine in liquid form to Atlanta, where it was then turned into crystal meth.
'During an early phase of the investigation, defendant Erik Rosales-Lopez was arrested in December 2022 at a residence used to process liquid methamphetamine that had been mixed with paint,' the USDOJ said. 'Rosales Lopez had distributed methamphetamine on three previous occasions, including to an undercover agent.'
During a search of Rosales-Lopez's home, agents found 11 kilograms of finished crystal meth.
TRENDING STORIES:
GA man sues NFL over Shedeur Sanders' drop to 5th round in NFL Draft
Pope Leo XIV: Who is the first American pope?
Hall County teacher accused of having inappropriate relationship with middle schooler
A few months later, an April 2023 operation led to a seizure of 16 kilograms of meth during a traffic stop of defendants Brayan Garcia-Picasso and Bryan Pacheco-Carranza.
USAO said Garcia-Picasso and Pacheco-Carranza let a home believed to be used as a meth lab and were pulled over. Both were under surveillance at the time.
When the home was searched after the traffic stop, agents found about six kilograms of meth and equipment to convert it.
Investigators continued their work and arrested Alex Chamorro-Valencia in June 2023 after searching a vehicle with nearly a kilogram of meth. When agents searched a home they'd seen Chamorro-Valencia leaving, they found a second meth lab used by the same trafficking organization and recovered 15 gallons of liquid methamphetamine and 135 kilograms of crystal meth.
At the house, agents arrested Hedgarciney Gameno-Cortez.
'The defendants in this case were responsible for introducing massive quantities of deadly narcotics into the metro-Atlanta area—methamphetamine that was trafficked across borders, chemically altered, and distributed without regard for the devastating impact on public health and safety,' Steven N. Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said. 'Through the combined efforts of HSI and our federal, state, and local partners, we've disrupted a dangerous supply chain and brought key members of this organization to justice.'
The following defendants were convicted and sentenced:
Juventino Rodriguez was sentenced to 54 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Rodriguez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl after he pled guilty on December 19, 2024.
Garcia-Picasso was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Garcia-Picasso was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on November 7, 2023.
Pacheco-Carranza was sentenced to six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Pacheco-Carranza was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on January 18, 2024.
Chamorro-Valencia was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Chamorro-Valencia was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine after he pled guilty on October 16, 2023.
Hedgarciney Gameno-Cortez was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Gameno-Cortez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine after he pled guilty on February 28, 2024.
Erik Josue Rosales-Lopez was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rosales-Lopez was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after he pled guilty on July 31, 2023.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Court Sentences Mexican ‘Narcotrafficker' To 20 Years In Prison
A court has sentenced a major Mexican drug trafficker with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel to 20 years in prison. 41-year-old Jorge Humberto Perez Cazares – or 'Cadete' – was a 41-year-old 'leader and organizer of a transnational drug trafficking organization' from Sinaloa, Mexico, according to a June 9 press release. He shipped 'multiple tons' of cocaine into Mexico for distribution in Los Angeles, California. Cazares 'worked with a close affiliate of the co-leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.' 'This sentence marks the downfall of a trafficker who fueled violence and addiction on both sides of the border,' said Jose Perez, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, in a release. 'The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to target the command structure of these cartels and dismantle their operations.' American police targeted Cazares' L.A.-based distribution network, raiding three 'stash houses' – seizing $1.4 million and more than 70 kg of cocaine – in February 2014, according to the release. Close to that time, Cazares 'personally negotiated' a $23 million cocaine deal with a Guatemalan drug trafficker. Just 'days later,' Guatemalan police arrested Cazares while he was in a truck with 514 kg of cocaine, the release said. He was known for using 'violence to protect his narcotics shipments.' Due to a 'provisional arrest warrant' from America, police arrested Cazares again in Mexico in June 2016. 'Jorge 'Cadete' Perez Cazares wasn't just moving multi-ton quantities of cocaine — he was fueling a criminal empire. Perez Cazares funneled substantial amounts of narcotics into the United States and profited off the pain of addiction,' said Robert Murphy, acting administrator of the DEA, in the release. 'The government proved he was no middleman — he was a leader. And now, justice is delivering a sentence worthy of the destruction he caused.' Cazares was extradited to the U.S. in July 2021, according to the release. In April 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of 'conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States.' The FBI's Washington Field Office investigated the case, while DEA Miami and DEA Guatemala 'provided critical assistance,' according to the release. Cazares' case is part of Operation Take Back America, which aims to 'repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.' Federal officials recently charged a father and son, who operated a South Texas oil business, with supporting the violent 'Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación' (CJNG), as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Also recently, Customs and Border Protection officers seized multiple large cocaine shipments at the Texas-Mexico border. Texas was among the states with the most Mexican cartel presence in 2024, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Cartels including Sinaloa, Los Zetas, Los Caballeros Templarios, the Beltran-Leyva Organization, and CJNG have historically operated in the DFW metroplex.


Chicago Tribune
30 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Mobile tolerance museum brings its anti-hate, anti-Semitism lessons to Jewish Festival in Morton Grove: ‘We need more of this'
The Greater Chicago Jewish Festival drew big crowds to the St. Paul Woods forest preserve area in Morton Grove Sunday for a day filled with community and family entertainment, and an exhibition from the Los Angeles-based Mobile Museum of Tolerance. The biennial festival included usual accoutrements of a summertime cultural festival, including dancing, live music, roasting food and crafts tables. But a standout was the security on hand. Signs near the entrance assured visitors undercover law enforcement would be patrolling, and uniformed officers from seven different agencies walked the grounds. The festival was fenced in and visitors had to pass through a security checkpoint. The mobile exhibit, which was displayed on a bus, is described by its owners as 'a self-contained classroom on wheels' that offered festival goers an opportunity to explore anti-hate and antisemitic workshops and other activities. The mobile museum arrived in the Cook County woods nearly two years after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. On May 21, two Israeli embassy staff workers were fatally shot in Washington, D. C. And more recently, an Egyptian man is facing attempted murder and federal hate crime charges, accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of people in Boulder, Colorado June 1 who were holding their weekly demonstration for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. 'Right now, it's a very tense time for the Jewish community,' Alliya Kazan said as she left the bus Sunday. A regular visitor to libraries, schools and community events since it launched in 2021, the exhibit teaches visitors about two recent periods of injustice, the Holocaust and the pre-Civil Rights Movement era in the South. Videos showcase interviews with people who lived through these pivotal times. Modern voices are also featured alongside video and photos from those events. Kazan said there's too much miscommunication across cultures and the exhibit's videos show how communities have in the past worked together during times of intolerance. 'We need more of this in the political discourse,' she said. Videos featured as part of the mobile museum don't mention the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, much less the antisemitism that's happened since then, but visitors said that given all of the recent events, the exhibit's approach to history is welcoming. 'It was a very immersive experience,' Kazan said. 'It gives people the opportunity to have an immersive experience as opposed to just reading something and I think that's really great.' Another visitor, a man who didn't want to give his name given the political climate, said he hopes the mobile exhibit can bring people together. 'I'm here to be part of this, and in light of all the horror and tragedy that happens in the Jewish community, the community needs to stand together,' he said. The bus was accessible from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the festival. Elizabeth Blair, the mobile museum's education coordinator, said that after only a few hours of being open, hundreds of people had stopped by. She said that while the video presentation hasn't changed to incorporate specific recent world events, the headlines trickle into conversations that guests have after they visit the exhibit. 'In terms of people's comments, we're hearing people say we need this [mobile exhibit],' Blair said. 'They've been very supportive. … I've been sort of encouraged by the lack of pushback over the last few years.' The Mobile Museum of Tolerance will roll to the Grayslake Area Public Library June 19 the library's Juneteenth celebration.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mass. labor groups rally against ICE arrest of California union leader
BOSTON — Unrest in California spurred by federal immigration enforcement raids has reached the East Coast, where hundreds of protesters gathered Monday in solidarity with their counterparts on the other side of the country. At a peaceful rally in front of Boston City Hall, members of SEIU and other unions condemned the Friday arrest of David Huerta, president of SEIU California, in Los Angeles. Huerta had been attending a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at a number of work sites in the area, which led to more than 100 arrests. 'Arresting a lawful resident without any due process should chill every American to the bone. It's a dangerous precedent,' said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch. 'If David Huerta can be arrested for exercising his rights, who's next? Which one of us is next? Where does it end?' Huerta was one of at least 44 protesters to be arrested in California Friday. The following day, violent confrontations broke out between federal authorities and protesters, with law enforcement using tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters setting cars on fire. President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard, despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also threatened to mobilize active duty Marines, a threat he followed through with Monday afternoon, sending 700 Marines to Los Angeles, according to ABC News. 'Trump's threats to deploy the military against civilians on U.S. soil is illegal, unnecessary, unjust,' said ACLU of Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose at the rally, which took place before the news that the Marines were being sent to Los Angeles broke. 'No matter how much firepower the federal government threatens to wield, it will never be a match for people power,' Rose added. 'Democracy is not just a piece of paper. Democracy is workers and ordinary people showing up to protect one another and defend our collective rights, including the right to protest and dissent.' Barbara Roy of Marblehead attended the rally in Boston with her friend and neighbor, Mary Chalifour. Roy said she went to her first protest three months ago because of how upset she was by the actions of the Trump administration. Roy carried a sign bearing a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' She said 'justice' was what brought her to Monday's rally. 'Justice isn't being served,' she said. Boston has had its own confrontations with the Trump administration over its immigration policies. Mayor Michelle Wu was called to testify before Congress in March about the city's status as a so-called 'sanctuary city,' meaning local law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE on civil cases. More recently, Wu drew criticism from U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley, who released a video on social media last week saying the mayor was pushing 'false narratives' about federal immigration enforcement. Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia, who attended Monday's rally, acknowledged the city had already been targeted by the federal government but said the hundreds of protesters who showed up to City Hall showed the city's position. 'We're standing firm. We're ready for it,' Mejia said. 'We're signaling to the Trump administration, 'Don't mess with Boston.'' Huerta was arraigned in court in California at the same time as the rally Monday afternoon. He has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer, according to the Associated Press. 'It won't end well for Trump' if he does this amid LA protests, ex-GOP rep says Markey: Trump using National Guard in LA to distract from big cuts in 'Big Beautiful Bill' ICE deportation blocked by Boston judge: Migrants now in shipping container in Djibouti AG Andrea Joy Campbell: Know your rights when it comes to ICE (Viewpoint) Milford High student released from ICE detention: 'Nobody should be in here' Read the original article on MassLive.