Six Defendants Admit to Trafficking Large Quantities of Methamphetamine

LUBBOCK, Texas — Six defendants charged in an indictment returned in November 2017 appeared this week and last week in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant to plead guilty to their involvement in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization operating in the Lubbock, Texas area, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.

Alejandro Garcia-Izazaga, aka “Flaco” and “Alex,” 29; Anthony Wayne Reiley, aka “Tony,” 49; Ivan Cruz-Martinez, 37; and Zacarias Blanco-Olea, 45, each pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Each faces a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years and up to life in federal prison and a $10 million fine. 

Ernesto Martinez, Jr., 54, and Patricia Ann Hernandez-Salas, 48, each pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  Each faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years and up to 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine. 

A seventh defendant, Amanda Nicole Marney, 28, is scheduled to go to trial in February 2018.

Garcia-Izazaga, Reiley, Cruz-Martinez, and Blanco-Olea have been in custody on related criminal complaints since their arrest in October 2017.  Martinez and Hernandez-Salas have been in custody following their arrests in November 2017.  Sentencing dates will be set at a later date.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Garcia-Izazaga was facilitating the transportation of pound-quantities of methamphetamine in Lubbock and other major cities in the State of Texas.  On three separate occasions in the summer of 2017, Garcia-Izazaga offered to pay Reiley, Cruz-Martinez, and Blanco-Olea to transport large quantities of methamphetamine from other parts of the state to Lubbock, Texas.  On each occasion, the defendants were stopped by law enforcement for traffic violations.  Searches of the vehicles revealed large amounts of methamphetamine in hidden compartments.

Martinez, Jr. and Hernandez-Salas each purchased and distributed large quantities of methamphetamine in the Lubbock, Texas area.

In total, law enforcement agents were able to seize in excess of 15 pounds of methamphetamine and several firearms. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Customs and Border Protection, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, the Lubbock Police Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is in charge of the prosecution.

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