Bakersfield man pleads guilty to federal drug charges
A Bakersfield man pleaded guilty Monday to possessing a variety of illegal drugs with the intent to distribute them, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced in a news release.
The release said law enforcement officers served a federal search warrant Aug. 10, 2023, at a Bakersfield "stash house" set up for the sale of psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana. It added that a stolen firearm was seized in the sales area.
Thirty-three-year-old Ramon Maldonado Jr. was found in bed in one of the bedrooms, the release said, along with a bag of psilocybin mushrooms, a plastic tote containing psilocybin, marijuana wax and edibles. It said there was also a tote containing jars and bags of marijuana, a bag of heroin, a bag of fentanyl, bindles of fentanyl and heroin and a Ruger .22-caliber rifle with a magazine inserted in it.
Agents also located fentanyl in a separate bedroom, including a kilogram "brick" of fentanyl bearing the Louis Vuitton imprint, the release said, and in the kitchen of the residence they found a plastic bag with methamphetamine near five semi-automatic pistol magazines.
"In total, agents seized 5.5 pounds of fentanyl, 25.9 pounds of psilocybin, 23.4 pounds of marijuana, 20 ounces of heroin and 1.15 ounces of methamphetamine," the release said.
The case results from cooperation from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kern County Probation Office Gang Unit and the Bakersfield Police Department.
Maldonado faces 10 years to life in prison along with a $10 million fine when he is sentenced Aug. 4 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston.
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