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Convicted head of drug conspiracy could face life in prison
DAYTON — A man accused of leading a drug trafficking ring that brought hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to southwest Ohio was convicted Thursday, June 4, of federal felony charges.
Daniel Garcia-Guia, 28, a Mexican national who was living in Dayton, had been on trial since May 18. The jury deliberated for two hours before finding him guilty of all charges:
• one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances
• one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances
• and one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise which involved at least 150 kilograms of cocaine, and which had Garcia-Guia among its principal leaders or organizers.
Garcia-Guia faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole for his role as one of the principal leaders or organizers of this “continuing criminal enterprise,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 3.
“The crimes of conspiracy and drug trafficking are each punishable by a mandatory sentence of at least ten years up to life imprisonment,” said Gregory G. Lockhart. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “Operating a continuing criminal enterprise of this size among the principal leadership is punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of release.”
Garcia-Guia’s organization brought drugs to southwest Ohio from 2005 until his arrest in April 2007, according to federal authorities. Garcia-Guia has been in federal custody since then.
Testimony presented during the trial showed that Garcia-Guia and his co-conspirators arranged for the delivery and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from El Paso, Texas and elsewhere via motor vehicles and interstate freight shipments to the Dayton area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As part of the investigation, DEA and FBI agents in El Paso intercepted a load of 25 kilograms of cocaine bound for Dayton, worth approximately $750,000 wholesale and having an even greater street value.
This seizure led to evidence further unraveling the conspiracy. Garcia-Guia and his co-conspirators maintained real property (or “stash houses”) in the Dayton area, wherein kilogram quantities of cocaine and large amounts of U.S. currency drug proceeds were stored, packaged and distributed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized over $3 million in cash drug proceeds from one such location during execution of a search warrant in 2005.
Twenty-two others indicted along with Garcia-Guia in and after May 2007 have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing. Two others remain at large and are fugitives and are believed to have left the country. An additional defendant is believed to have been murdered while in Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lockhart commended the DEA and Organized Crime and Drug Task Force agents who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Schenck and Andrew Hunt, who prosecuted the case.
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Comments
By Don
June 4, 2009 4:27 PM | Link to this
The only words that come to mind are “throw away the key”.By paris London
June 4, 2009 5:14 PM | Link to this
I wonder what jail this inmae is housed in.By Pat
June 4, 2009 5:39 PM | Link to this
Bet it ain’t the Montgomery County Jail!By TheScoopyDoop.com
June 4, 2009 9:56 PM | Link to this
Live by the sword, You will do Life by IT.By mike
June 5, 2009 4:34 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately for Mr. Garcia-Guia, he had real prosecutors on his case—not the corrupt Mr Heck. Now if Judge Rice will do his duty and give this thug life, the world will be a better place