/

2 Bay Area drug dealers sentenced to prison

2 mins read

On Tuesday, a South Bay drug dealer was sentenced for conspiring to traffic more than 200 pounds of drugs. 

According to prosecutors, Raul Jimenez-Verduzco, 24, of San Jose, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Freeman to serve 84 months in federal prison.

Jimenez-Verduzco pleaded guilty. 

In his plea agreement, he admitted to working for a drug trafficking organization from 2020 to 2021. 

“In total, he conspired to distribute 198 pounds of methamphetamine, 10 pounds of heroin, and 40 pounds of cocaine. The values of these drugs approximated $495,000 of methamphetamine, $63,000 of heroin, and $540,000 of cocaine,” prosecutors wrote.

Jimenez-Verduzco served as a “dispatcher” who took hundreds of phone orders every week from the drug trafficking organization’s customers and contacted couriers to deliver the drugs, prosecutors said.

On August 18, 2021, Jimenez-Verduzco delivered drugs to a man parked on Harvard Avenue in Santa Clara. He put a trash bag containing 44 pounds of methamphetamine into the man’s car. Prosecutors said law enforcement officers stopped the car minutes later and seized the drugs. 

On October 21, 2021, Jimenez-Verduzco was arrested during a traffic stop in Santa Clara. A deputy found one pound of methamphetamine inside a backpack and 19 pounds in the car’s trunk. 

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, the judge ordered Jimenez-Verduzco to begin serving his prison sentence immediately.

A second Bay Area drug dealer,  Ernesto “Tiger” Madrigal, 28,  was also sentenced on Tuesday. He was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for distributing drugs in Alameda County. 

In 2020, Madrigal admitted that he sold one pound of meth to an undercover officer in Emeryville. Prosecutors wrote, “Madrigal told the informant that the courier would arrive with five pounds of methamphetamine and that he would separate out one pound of the drugs for the sale. The informant and an undercover officer met with the courier on March 6, 2020.”

In his plea agreement, Madrigal also acknowledged that on April 24, 2020, he arranged another sale with an informant for 250 counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. 

The judge ordered Madrigal to begin serving his sentence immediately.

Charlene

Charlene is a Bay Area journalist who hails from the small community of Fresno. Drawing from her experience writing for her college paper, Charlene continues to advocate for free press and local journalism. She also volunteers in all the beach cleanups she can because she loves the water.

Delivered weekly to your inbox📰

Stay connected with the heart of the Bay Area! Subscribe to the SF Times Friday Paper for your weekly dose of local news, events, business updates, and more from San Francisco and surrounding areas. Don't miss out on what's happening in your city.

 

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!