October 19, 2021 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Juan Carlos Cortez-Gomez, 51, of Riverbank, pleaded guilty on Monday to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on Sept. 15, 2020, Cortez-Gomez agreed to sell methamphetamine to an FBI informant. When Cortez-Gomez arrived at the location for the sale, he was arrested by officers. A search of his truck revealed 10 pounds of methamphetamine. During a post-arrest statement, Cortez-Gomez admitted he knowingly possessed this methamphetamine and that he was planning to sell it.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, and the Stockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.

Cortez-Gomez is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 31, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. Cortez-Gomez faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Source: DOJ Release