A Mexican National and a Utah Man are in Custody Facing Drug Crimes

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging two men, a Mexican National illegally in the United States and a Utah man, after they were accused of distributing methamphetamine in the District of Utah.  

Alphonzo Robert Bell, 42, of Midvale, Utah, and David Alejandro Jimenez-Angel, 24, of Jalisco, Mexico, were initially charged by complaint on February 2, 2025.

According to court documents, on February 4, 2025, law enforcement from the Unified Police Department (UPD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a buy operation using a confidential informant (CI). During the buy operation, the CI purchased eight ounces of methamphetamine from Bell using $2,800 in government funds. Bell provided a portion of the funds to Jimenez-Angel. The total weight of the methamphetamine was approximately 246 grams. Bell and Jimenez-Angel were detained immediately after the controlled buy. During the investigation, detectives seized a Taurus, model G3C handgun, 9mm caliber. Immigration authorities confirmed Jimenez-Angel is in the United States illegally.  

Bell and Jimenez-Angel are charged with distribution of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting. Bell is also charged with distribution of methamphetamine, and felon in possession of a firearm. Bell’s initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for February 20, 2025. Jimenez-Angel’s initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for February 27, 2025, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. 

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the Unified Police Department’s (UPD) Directed Enforcement Unit (DEU) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Williams of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department 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.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.