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Indictment: Arizonans Possessed 109 Pounds of Cocaine
TOPEKA, KAN. – Two Arizona residents arrested in Shawnee County, Kan., have been indicted on charges of possession with intent to distribute 109 pounds of cocaine, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Juan Luis Diaz, 48, Casa Grande, Ariz, and Rosa Amelia R. Gomez, 50, Casa Grande, Ariz., are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Feb. 2, 2012, in Shawnee County, Kan.
If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A grand jury meeting in Topeka, Kan., also returned the following indictments:
Francisco Mancilla-Robles, 48, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession with possession with intent to distribute three kilograms of cocaine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Feb. 4, 2012, in Clark County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $5 million. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
Christopher L. Kenny, Jr., 24, Manhattan, Kan., is charged with one count of arson.
The indictment alleges that on April 18, 2010, Kenny set a fire that damaged an apartment complex at 1030 Vattier Street in Manhattan.
Kenny initially was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Feb. 1.
If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Riley County Police Department, the Riley County Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Disney of the Riley County Attorney’s Office are prosecuting.
Anthony Villalobos-Castillo, 30, Topeka, Kan., is charged with failure to surrender to serve a federal prison sentence. In December 2011, Villalobos-Castillo was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons at Yankton Camp in Yankton, South Dakota, and failed to do so.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years consecutive to the initial sentence and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Jacy L. Gatchell, 19, Topeka, Kan., Perry Hollis, 22, Topeka, Kan., and Jacob A. Gish, 25, Topeka, Kan., are charged in superseding indictment with counterfeiting.
Gatchell is charged with five counts of counterfeiting.
Hollis is charged with five counts of counterfeiting and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm while under indictment.
Gish is charged with two counts of counterfeiting and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.
Upon conviction, counterfeiting carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count; unlawful possession of a firearm by a person under indictment carries a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000; and unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.
The U.S. Secret Service investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard is prosecuting.
Jovanny Lopez, 20, a citizen of Mexico, and Enrique Mendoza-Reyo, 28, a citizen of Mexico, are charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. Rogelio Ojeda-Delgado, 20, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully entering the United States. They were found in February 2012 in Sedgwick County, Kan.
Upon conviction, unlawful re-entry carries a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine to $250,000. Illegal entry carries a maximum penalty of six months and a fine up to $5,000. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.