Eight people accused of being involved in a drug organization in Gainesville have now been sentenced.
Members of the drug ring were selling methamphetamine and were uncovered after a lengthy investigation. Operation Night Train, a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, discovered the conspiracy and arrested the individuals, who also face charges for drug possession and money laundering.
One of the suspects, Lesli Arroyo Alvarado, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, is still on the run.
According to WDEF in Chattanooga, where one of the members of the organization was arrested, the other suspects were all caught over the span of several months in 2019. They say that, according to the FBI, the meth ring was trafficking drugs in Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains, North Carolina and Florida.
“Methamphetamine continues to plague our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine in a press release issued from his office concerning the sentencings. “This prosecution demonstrates that our federal, state, and local partners remain committed to taking these dangerous drug dealers off of our streets. We are grateful to the many law enforcement agencies who partnered with us on these cases.”
Vic Reynolds, the Director for Georgia’s Bureau of Investigation also emphasized that everything will be done to keep drugs off the streets in our communities. “Georgians deserve to live in a safe and drug-free environment,” he said in the press release. “We will continue to work diligently with all of our partners to investigate and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety of our communities.”
The charges and other information presented in court: Teofilo Carlos Santana Medrano ran a multi-kilogram methamphetamine distribution organization in the Gainesville, Georgia, area. He was supplied by Maria Maldonado and Salome Urieta Jaimes. Santana distributed methamphetamine to other members of his organization.
Eight defendants in the case have been sentenced after pleading guilty. Their names and charges are as follows:
Timothy Barnes, 53, of Jasper, Georgia, was sentenced on January 28, 2021, to 11 years, eight months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Barnes was convicted on September 8, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Teofilo Carlos Santana Medrano, 29, of Gainesville, Georgia, was sentenced on October 14, 2020, to 18 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Santana was convicted on February 19, 2020 after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Michael Johnny Davis, 57, of Canton, Georgia, was sentenced on October 26, 2020, to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by six years of supervised release. Davis was convicted on July 23, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
Maria Isabel Gonzalez Maldonado, a/k/a Lili, 38, of Atlanta Georgia, was sentenced on November 20, 2020, to eight years, one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Maldonado was convicted on March 19, 2020, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine.
John Johnson, 50, of Mershon, Georgia, was sentenced on November 20, 2020, to three years, eight months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. Johnson was convicted on August 13, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Mitchell Lingerfelt, 45, of Ball Ground, Georgia, was sentenced on October 29, 2020, to five years, three months in prison to be followed by seven years of supervised release. Davis was convicted on July 23, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Carlos Neftali Lemus Salmeron, 29, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was sentenced on August 14, 2020, to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Salmeron was convicted on September 3, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Salome Urieta Jaimes, a/k/a “Gucci”, 39, of Guerrero, Mexico was sentenced on August 14, 2020, to nine years, two months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $200.00. Jaimes was convicted on January 31, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering.
The remaining defendant, Lesli Arroyo Alvarado, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on July 2, 2020. She fled prior to her sentencing. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact to the FBI.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI North Georgia Major Offenders Task Force, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, the Rhea County, Tennessee, Sherriff’s Office, the GBI Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, and the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/1/974817/members-of-meth-ring-in-gainesville-have-been-sentenced