conspiracy

Published on: December 17, 2017

More Than a Dozen Charged in Heroin and Cocaine Delivery Service Bust

A business in Van Nuys that is suspected of selling drugs through a telephone operated delivery service led to sixteen people facing charges. The service is said to have been selling heroin and cocaine to purchasers phoning in personal orders, in addition to selling bulk amounts to a drug ring.

A 40-year-old man from Sylmar identified as Sigfredo Gurrola Barrientos is the alleged manager of the operation named Manny’s Delivery Service, and he supervised six others. They worked for the Van Nuys located operation by taking telephone orders, delivering of the narcotics in company designated vehicles, and a variety of other tasks pertaining to the service.

Starting at the end of August, recorded conversations monitored by law enforcement documented that those involved with the drug ring had procured numerous kilograms of heroin and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pacoima resident Jacqueline De La Rosa, 24, allegedly obtained large amounts of the drugs which she stored in her home.

Continue reading →

Published on: October 19, 2017

10 Die in Illegal Alien Smuggling for Profit Scheme

by Staycie R. Sena

A man suspected of assisting in transporting illegal aliens into the United States for profit and without regard for their safety entered a plea of guilty at his arraignment on Monday.

As stated in court records, on July 23, 2017, San Antonio Police investigated a call leading them to a tractor-trailer parked behind a Walmart. Several illegal aliens were discovered standing while others were lying near the back of the trailer, and 61-year-old James Matthew Bradley Jr. was in the driver’s seat.

Among the 39 people found by police four of them were unaccompanied minors between the ages of 14 and 17. Eight of the aliens were found deceased in the trailer and two died later in the hospital. The illegals interviewed claimed the trailer carried up to 200 people during the course of the transit, and cited varying amounts Bradley had charged for the transportation services. Bradley affirmed that these allegations were true. He is being held pending sentencing on January 22, 2018 and faces a penalty as high as life in prison.

Continue reading →

Published on: May 18, 2017

Alaska Inmate’s Attorney Charged With Smuggling Drugs Into an Anchorage Jail

by Staycie R. Sena

A jailed inmate and his attorney are facing federal charges for a scheme to allegedly distribute drugs to an Anchorage Correctional Complex for sale between inmates, according to federal prosecutors.

Kit Lee Karjala, a 54 year-old attorney and her 33 year old client, Christopher Brandon Miller, an inmate at the ACC, are charged with distribution of, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, drug conspiracy, and providing and possessing contraband in prison.

A statement made by the Alaska U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday said that Karjala and four other inmates allegedly started this smuggling ring during the second half of last year and continued “until the present”. Prosecutors claim that Karjala allegedly took advantage of her attorney-client visits to smuggle drugs to Miller, and also other inmates that were not her clients. Karjala would allegedly transfer the drugs while blocking the cameras and then the inmate would allegedly carry the drugs “inside his body” into the jail, according to the statement.

Continue reading →