United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Angel Lopez-Rivera was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Fallin. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, United States District Judge.

Lopez-Rivera, 24, of Corcoran, Calif., pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019, to one count of distribution of methamphetamine. In pleading guilty, Lopez-Rivera admitted he agreed to deliver methamphetamine to a drug buyer in Gilroy. The defendant drove to a parking lot in Gilroy, met the buyer in a parked car, then handed over the drugs in a cardboard box in exchange for cash. The drugs consisted of approximately 446 grams of pure methamphetamine.

A federal grand jury indicted Lopez-Rivera on May 4, 2017, charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. A superseding information filed on June 20, 2019, charged Lopez-Rivera with one count of distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841, the count to which he pleaded guilty.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Freeman also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release. The defendant was remanded into custody and will begin serving his prison term immediately.

Lopez-Rivera is member of a drug trafficking organization that participated in illegal drug activities in and around Fresno and Gilroy from June 2016 to April 2017. In total, the DTO was responsible for distributing over 24 pounds of methamphetamine, or “crystal meth,” and possessed additional methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine for intended distribution. Lopez-Rivera the third member of the DTO to have been sentenced. On June 18, 2019, Judge Freeman sentenced codefendant Sergio Antonio Padilla-Lopez to 36 months in prison for delivering methamphetamine on a separate occasion. Further, on March 5, 2019, Judge Freeman sentenced the organizer and leader of the DTO, codefendant Ricardo Rios-Angulo, to 220 months in prison for his role in the drug conspiracy. When arrested, Rios-Angulo also was in possession of firearms and ammunition, including a Cobra .380-caliber handgun, a loaded Springfield Armory 1911 .38-caliber handgun and an AR-style assault rifle without a serial number. 

This case is being prosecuted by the San Jose Branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District in California. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA.

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