FRESNO, Calif. — Joseph Vasquez Jr., 32, of Modesto, was
sentenced today to 26 years and eight months in prison for an operation that
distributed methamphetamine from Modesto to Juneau, Alaska, U.S. Attorney
McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents and evidence produced at trial,
Vasquez was part of a drug trafficking organization operating in the Central
Valley, Alaska, and Tacoma, Washington between Jan. 1, 2015, and April 11,
2018. As a result of the year-long investigation, 45 pounds of methamphetamine,
4 pounds of heroin and 3 pounds of cocaine were seized. On Oct. 3, 2019, after
a three-day trial, a federal jury in Fresno found Vasquez guilty of conspiring
to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
Five co-defendants charged on April 5, 2018, pleaded guilty
to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled
substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. Alecia Trapps, 56,
of Manteca, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2020. Jimmy Brantley, 42,
of Manteca, was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2019, to 10 years in prison. On Oct. 21,
2019, Carmen Conejo, 53, of Long Beach, was sentenced to five years of
probation; Ernest Westley, 62, of Modesto, was sentenced to two years and eight
months in prison; and Sheena Taylor, 41, of Modesto, was sentenced to 12.5
years in prison.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security
Investigations, the Central Valley Gang Impact Task Force, Modesto Police
Department, Manteca Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Stanislaus
County District Attorney’s Office, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department
(Washington), Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (Washington), and Juneau
Police Department (Alaska). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie L. Alsworth and
Laurel J. Montoya are prosecuting the case.
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