Four Atlanta men, two of them unauthorized immigrants from Mexico, received prison sentences after pleading guilty to a drug-dealing conspiracy in a case that involved federal agents seizing several kilograms of cocaine, more than $50,000 in cash and several guns.
Two of the men confessed to trafficking more than 200 kilograms of cocaine together over the course of a 10-year span: Roberto Garza-Mendez, 34, of Norcross, and Shadarrian Grimes, 49, of Suwanee. They each received sentences of more than a decade.
Garza-Mendez was sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He will be deported to Mexico once he has completed his term in prison.
Grimes was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He will also forfeit his home, car and other illegally acquired assets to the federal government.
The other two men involved received shorter sentences for their roles in the scheme: Euklides Gonzalaz-Hernandez, 41, of Conyers, and Jonathan Pena, 27, of Stone Mountain.
Gonzalez-Hernandez was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for operating what authorities described as a cocaine stash house. He will also be deported to Mexico after his prison term.
Pena was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Authorities described his role as a courier who ferried drugs and money between the other defendants.
According to U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, a multi-month federal investigation led to DEA agents learning the date and time of a drug deal between Garza-Mendez and Grimes. Federal agents and Georgia State Patrol troopers stopped Garza-Mendez’s car as he drove to the drug deal, finding several kilograms of cocaine and a gun, leading to his arrest.
Authorities then executed search warrants at the homes of Garza-Mendez, Grimes and Gonzalez-Hernandez, Pak said in an announcement. Between the three homes, federal agents seized more cocaine, more than $50,000 in cash and additional guns. They also arrested Pena outside of his home without incident, Pak said.
“(B)y seizing these defendants’ drug-related assets, we hope to send a clear message that drug traffickers will not be permitted to profit from the poison they distribute,” Pak said.
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