UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
GRETCHEN C.F. SHAPPERT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2008
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
IREDELL COUNTY DRUG DEFENDANTS CONVICTED BY FEDERAL JURY Drug Conspiracy with International Elements Totally Shut Down by Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Operations in Iredell County STATESVILLE, NC - A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina, Statesville Division, convicted Esequiel Herrera-Nieto, 33 and Maria Carbajal-Nieto, 20, following a trial in Statesville which ended on Friday, January 18, 2008. The two guilty verdicts concluded an extensive federal investigation of international drug trafficking which led to the indictment of 13 individuals for federal drug and firearms violations in 2006. The federal indictment included charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Numerous defendants were convicted on additional counts of possession with intent to distribute illegal drugs and with violations of the federal firearms laws. U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert, who tried the case before the Honorable Richard L. Voorhees in U.S. District Court, made the announcement today.
Joining U.S. Attorney Shappert in making today’s announcement are Sheriff Phillip Redmond of Iredell County, Delbert Richburg, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Director Robin Pendergraft of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The federal indictment charging Esequiel Herrera-Nieto and Maria Carbajal-Nieto, along with 11 other individuals was filed in 2006 in United States District Court. To date all 13 of the defendants have been either convicted at trial or have entered pleas of guilty. The charges represent the results of a lengthy investigation focused on a group operating out of Olin, North Carolina. The indictment alleged that all 13 defendants were members of a conspiracy that went on from about January of 1999 to September of 2006, in Iredell County, and elsewhere within the Western District of North Carolina. The indictment also alleged possession with the intent to distribute both methamphetamine and cocaine in more than a dozen single counts in addition to several individual counts alleging possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
According to the evidence presented at the January 2008 trial of Herrera-Nieto and Carbajal-Nieto, members of the conspiracy operated a major cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and crystal methamphetamine (“ice”) distribution network which included operations in Iredell, Yadkin, and Forsyth Counties in North Carolina, and also areas of western Virginia. Witnesses described large-scale trafficking, including the distribution of pounds of crystal methamphetamine and kilograms of cocaine. Members of the conspiracy included natives of Mexico as well as residents of North Carolina and Virginia.
Law enforcement officers who testified at trial described a network that operated at least from 1999 until the summer of 2006. On August 8, 2006, federal agents and narcotics investigators of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office executed a traffic stop and a search warrant at a trailer in Olin, North Carolina that was described as the center of the narcotics trafficking operation. Law enforcement officers seized several pounds of methamphetamine, a large quantity of cocaine, over $39,000 in U.S. Currency, a firearm, car titles, evidence of wire remitter transfers of cash to Mexico, and several vehicles. Members of the conspiracy were arrested at both scenes.
This investigation also led to the seizure by law enforcement authorities of pounds of methamphetamine and a cache of weapons from a residence in rural western Virginia in July of 2006 by officers in Virginia who received intelligence information from North Carolina. United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert, who prosecuted the case at trial, commended the Iredell County Vice and Narcotics Unit and Immigration Customs Enforcement for their leadership and initiative in this complicated investigation. “When they began, law enforcement officers knew virtually nothing about this drug organization,” Shappert said. “It was essential that they develop informants, conduct surveillance, analyze phone records, and interview persons associated with the drug operation in order to put together a case for prosecution in federal court. These cases require disciplined investigators with a commitment to rooting out the drug traffickers. Fortunately, we had extremely dedicated officers and agents who were willing to devote the time and effort needed to dismantle a major drug network.” In particular, she cited the leadership of Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant David Ramsey who initiated the investigation. “Lieutenant Ramsey is the best of the best,” she said. “His leadership was vital to our success.” Following Friday’s conviction, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees announced that sentencing for the two convicted last week, along with their 11 co-defendants, would take place later in 2008. Both defendants were convicted on the drug conspiracy count and both face a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years up to life in prison on that count alone. Herrera-Nieto faces additional maximum statutory penalties on his conviction on additional criminal counts.
A list of the defendants and their current status follows.
RAUL NIETO-NUNEZ
Last known residence: Olin, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
ESEQUIEL HERRERA-NIETO
Last known residence: Olin, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
MARTIN MORENO-LOPEZ
Last known residence: Union Grove, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
CARLOS LOPEZ-PATINO
Last known residence: Dobson, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
DWAYNE EDWARD COE
Last known residence: Hamptonville, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
JAMES EDWARD COE
Last known residence: Mt. Airy, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
ALBERTO LOPEZ-ABURTO
Last known residence: Mt. Airy, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
JUAN CARBAJAL-PINEDA
Last known residence: Olin, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
MARIA CARBAJAL-NIETO
Last known residence: Olin, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
DAVID FRANKLIN HAYMORE
Last known residence: Ararat, Virginia
Status: Awaiting sentencing
SONIA JOAN ANDERSON
Last known residence: Ararat, Virginia
Status: Awaiting sentencing
JOSEPH SAMUEL CLEMENT
Last known residence: Mt. Airy, NC
Status: Awaiting sentencing
DAVID DONNELL MARTIN
also known as “Lil D”
Last known residence: Unknown at time of publication
Status: Awaiting sentencing