Defense has 60 days to review wire taps and affidavits before
alleged Gilroy meth dealer’s May 21 hearing
A federal judge postponed the hearing of David Bejines Quezada for 60 days Wednesday, two weeks after the FBI arrested Quezada for distributing methamphetamine in Gilroy as part of a lucrative family-run ring spanning the Bay Area.
Quezada, 33, is charged with distributing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it, but a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the defense needs more time to review wire tap transcripts and affidavits, according to Quezada’s lawyer, Steve Emery Teich. Quezada will appear in court again May 21 at 1:30 p.m. at the U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco, Teich said.
About 6 a.m. Feb. 27, multiple drug enforcement task forces, led by the FBI, simultaneously executed 10 search warrants and 14 arrest warrants at seven homes in San Jose, two in San Francisco and one here in Gilroy, according to FBI Public Affairs Specialist Patti Hansen. A total of 13 people were arrested, and one suspect remains at large, either in America or Mexico, Hansen said that day.
Ten defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in San Francisco hours after theirs arrests and another appeared in federal court in Sacramento later that day. All the defendants were held without bail and appeared in San Francisco again March 12.
The Gilroy arrest nabbed Quezada at his residence at 8952 Del Rio Circle in north Gilroy. Down the street, a family lay sleeping just before 6 a.m. when their mixed Chihuahua, Princess, began barking crazily. Outside in the dark, FBI and GPD cars sat quietly as law enforcement agents prepared to bust through the door of the two-story stucco house, the evidence of which lay scattered across its front stoop later that afternoon.
“Princess woke everyone up,” said Mona Rivas, who has lived in the new, tree sappling-filled neighborhood for five years. Hours after the commotion, underneath the afternoon sun, Rivas’s granddaughter rode around on her scooter with her younger sister and Princess. She attends Antonio Del Buono Elementary School, where she sometimes plays with the 8-year-old boy who lives in the raided home, Rivas said.
The young boy lives there with his younger sister and an adult couple, Rivas said, adding that she never spoke with the apparent family. Another neighbor farther down the street confirmed Rivas’s observations and said the couple at 8952 seemed very nice – “We say, ‘Hi!’ and ‘Bye!’ to each other” – but she declined to give her name for fear of retribution
“I just woke up and saw all these cop cars outside. It was so unusual,” the woman said. “But I won’t judge.”
The entire drug operation appeared to be familial, according to the FBI. Authorities had been investigating the family-led ring for two years. The network was responsible for distributing about 20 pounds of meth, believed to come from Mexico, every month throughout the Bay Area, which has a street value of about $500,000, according to Hansen.
While the two GPD officers who helped execute the search warrant were only briefly a part of the larger 200-member task force, the FBI led the various search teams comprised of the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force, California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Immigration Customs Enforcement and the San Jose and San Francisco police departments. The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office helped with the investigation.
United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced in a press release last month that a federal grand jury in San Francisco had indicted the 14 individuals Feb. 19. During the course of the two-year investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than six pounds of pure meth, the press release read.
The indictment charges one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and seven counts of distribution and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Taken together, the various counts call for minimum prison sentences of 5 to 10 years and range up to 40 years to life imprisonment. The fines range from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000.
The defendants named in the indictment are:
Guillermo Alejandro Zaragoza, 25, of San Jose, California
Eduardo Zaragoza, 24, of San Jose, California
Manuel Corona Contreras, 51, of San Jose, California
Richard Aldo Parodi, 32, of San Francisco, California
Martin Estrada Zaragoza, 43, of San Jose, California
Roberto Zaragoza Ruiz, 29, of San Jose, California
Lorenzo Carbajal, 46, of San Jose, California
David Blake Weld, 43, of San Francisco, California
David Bejines Quezada, 33, of Gilroy, California
Juan Zaragoza, 30, of Stockton, California
Martel Murillo Valencia, 34, of San Jose, California
Angelica Maria Rodriguez, 33, of San Jose, California
Paul Anthony Kozina, 37, of San Jose, California
Irma Corona, 44, of San Jose
