United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California

01/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/08/2024 23:34

Superseding Indictment Adds Three Defendants and New Charges in “Operation SLO Ride”

FRESNO, Calif. - A federal grand jury returned a 53-count superseding indictment today adding new charges for Alberto "Beto" Alvarado, Freddy Alvarado, Yerlly Vega, and Roberto Soria-Cuevas, and newly charging Tulare County residents Manuel Diaz, Daniel Alvarado, and Rafael Alcala Jr, for their participation in the drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

The initial indictment in the case charged 28 individuals. The addition of Manual Diaz, Daniel Alvarado, and Rafael Alcala Jr. brings the total number now charged in the case to 31.

According to court documents, beginning in July 2023, investigators gathered evidence regarding individuals involved in the distribution of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other narcotics in Tulare County using investigative tools that included confidential sources, surveillance, and wiretaps.

Operation SLO Ride ultimately resulted in the dismantling of a criminal organization operating in Tulare County. In March 2024, law enforcement executed numerous search and arrest warrants in a coordinated takedown. In the course of the operation, law enforcement seized more than 936 pounds of methamphetamine, 8.6 pounds of cocaine, 5.5 pounds of heroin, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl, more than $600,000 in currency, and 50 firearms. The 31 individuals now stand charged with various drug trafficking, money laundering, continuing criminal enterprise, and illegal possession of firearms offenses.

The superseding indictment adds charges against Alberto "Beto" Alvarado for operating a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to commit money laundering. If convicted, Alberto "Beto" Alvarado faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison.

Freddy Alvarado is additionally charged with conspiring to commit money laundering and international money laundering. Vega is additionally charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Soria-Cuevas is also now charged with conspiring to commit money laundering. Diaz, Alcala, and Daniel Alvarado are each newly charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiring to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, Alberto Alvarado, Freddy Alvarado, Daniel Alvarado, Diaz, Vega, Alcala, and Soria-Cuevas conspired to launder the proceeds of narcotics trafficking by transporting and transferring the proceeds from the United States to Mexico.

On April 29, 2024, Francisco Garcia, 28, of Tulare, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Sentencing is scheduled to occur Sept. 30, 2024.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Tulare County Sheriff's Office, Tulare County Tactical Narcotics Team, which is a part of Central Valley California HIDTA, the Tulare Police Department, the Visalia Police Department, the Kings County Sheriff's Office, the Porterville Police Department, the Woodlake Police Department, the Clovis Police Department, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Tulare County District Attorney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio Pataca is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a range of sentences from 10 years in prison to life in prison, and some face mandatory minimum sentences of five and 10 years for drug trafficking offenses. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.