Three California Residents Plead Guilty to Drug Trafficking Charges
RENO, Nev. — Three California men have pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing with the intent to distribute more than one pound of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada.
Jesse Pina, 26, of Visalia, California; Daniel Mediano, 29, of Farmersville, California; and Nicholas Lucky Lozano, 19, of Farmersville, were charged by criminal complaint in June 2019.
- Yesterday, Pina pleaded guilty to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
- Mediano pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
- Today, Lozano pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to court documents and admissions that the defendants made in court, on or about June 19, 2019, Pina, Mediano, and Lozano were staying in a motel room in downtown Reno and conspired to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. During the execution of a search warrant of the motel room, law enforcement recovered 595 grams (approximately 1.3 pounds) of methamphetamine, a scale, money from a drug sale conducted by Pina, and another $2,880 in cash.
Pina, Mediano, and Lozano are scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du on November 16, 2020.
The maximum statutory penalties are: (a) life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and (b) 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. The sentencing of a defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Regional Crime Suppression Unit (which included, at the time of this investigation, the Reno Police Department and the Sparks Police Department). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Rachow and Peter Walkingshaw are prosecuting the case.
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