The 45th out of 46 federally charged defendants in Operation Garlic Press – the 16-month, 39-agency undercover investigation led by Gilroy Police that spanned March 2010 to October 2011 – was sentenced Thursday in federal court, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag.
Zanaida Perales was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge D. Lowell Jensen at the Hall of Justice in San Jose after pleading guilty to using an interstate facility in furtherance of a drug felony on Aug. 1.
Another Operation Garlic Press defendant, Adolpho Cornejo Vasquez, escaped the arm of the law after his pretrial release, and as of Friday, remains a fugitive. Vasquez is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine, according to the release. A warrant has been issued for his arrest and anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at (408) 882-5200 or the Gilroy Police Department at (408) 846-0300.
In March, 2010, the ATF began an undercover operation spearheaded by the Gilroy Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. That operation targeted individuals, including gang members who commit violent criminal acts. The investigation focused on individuals operating in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office, working together, charged a total of 118 defendants, Haag added. The goal of the federal operation was to target criminals who dealt in firearms and narcotics, primarily methamphetamine, while the state focused on vehicles that had been stolen or were the subject of insurance fraud.
Among the items seized were 86 vehicles, 52 firearms – including several sawed-off shotguns, stolen firearms and firearms with missing serial numbers – and methamphetamine, “much of which was extremely pure” with a street value of more than $100,000.
