Tulare County Man Sentenced to over 17 Years in Prison for Gun and Drug Charges

FRESNO, Calif. — Jonathan Gallegos, 32, of Ivanhoe, was sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine and marijuana and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, the charges arose from a long-term investigation that uncovered evidence of a scheme involving the trade of illegal drugs sourced in Mexico and California for firearms sourced in Texas. In 2021, a team of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers partnered in an investigation into the Tulare County Surenos Street Gang. Part of the investigation focused on Gallegos and his associates, who were involved in shipping illegal drugs and firearms across state lines.

Between April 6, 2021, and Dec. 17, 2021, Gallegos and associates shipped kilograms of methamphetamine and marijuana from post offices in Central California to residences in San Antonio, Texas. Gallegos’s drug-buying customers shipped firearms back to Gallegos and his associates in California, as payment for the narcotics they had received.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulare County Area Regencies Gun Enforcement Team, the Visalia Police Department, the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation, the California Highway Patrol’s Special Operations Unit, and the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin J. Gilio and Antonio J. Pataca are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.