Crime & Safety
2 South Bay Meth Dealers Sentenced In Separate Trials
"Moreno" sold from his garage, while "Chepa" sold to undercover officers, officials said.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – Two San Jose men were sentenced Monday in separate cases of methamphetamine trafficking, Department of Justice officials said.
Eduardo Arriaga, a 41-year-old Sureno gang member known as Moreno, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for trafficking meth and using a firearm during his trafficking operation.
A federal jury convicted Arriaga in December 2015. He was the eighth defendant sentenced in an FBI operation targeting gang members selling meth in Santa Clara County, the Justice Department said.
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Arriaga has been a member of the Surenos for more than 20 years, according to evidence presented at trial.
In 2012, an FBI informant witnessed Arriaga selling meth on two occasions in his garage while armed with one or more guns, Justice Department officials said.
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Arriaga was indicted on July 31, 2013 and charged with one count of meth distribution and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
After a weeklong trial, a jury convicted Arriaga of both counts, Justice Department officials said.
Arriaga was also assigned a five-year term of supervised release following his prison term.
A second man, Jose Vasquez-Barron, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to sell meth, Department of Justice officials said.
Vazquez-Barron, a 29-year-old known as Chepa, pleaded guilty to the charge on Aug. 15.
According to the plea agreement, Vasquez-Barron described two transactions that occurred as part of the conspiracy, which took place between February and October 2015, Justice Department officials said.
Vasquez-Barron sold about a pound of meth to an undercover officer on two occasions.
Vasquez-Barron was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 8, 2015. In addition to his prison term, Vasquez-Barron will serve a five-year period of supervised release, Justice Department officials said.
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--Bay City News/File photo
