On Friday, September 27, after a four-day trial, a federal jury found Alma Lucia Garza, 23, of Fresno, guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Garza was a trusted assistant of the self-proclaimed M30 King of Fresno, Horacio Torrecillas Urias Jr. Between November 2, 2021, and March 31, 2022, Garza conspired with Torrecillas Urias and others to obtain, directly from sources in Mexico, tens of thousands of counterfeit M30 fentanyl pills and large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine.
The conspiracy included the distribution of these illicit drugs to drug dealers inside and outside of California. On January 27, 2022, Garza mailed a package containing cocaine and methamphetamine to a co-defendant in New Mexico.
Law enforcement seized the package before it arrived at its destination. On Feb. 9, 2022, Garza travelled with Torrecillas Urias to Sanger to deliver thousands of pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Those pills were seized by law enforcement during the execution of a residential search warrant two days later.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the United States charged Garza, Torrecillas Urias, and 17 others. With the verdict in today’s case, all defendants have pleaded or been found guilty. Sentencing in Garza’s case is set for January 6, 2025. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The actual sentence, however, will 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.
