SACRAMENTO — A man affiliated with the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood prison gang pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to distribute heroin and methamphetamine inside and outside California's prisons, federal officials announced. Samuel Keeton, 41, of Menifee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise and to conspiracy to...
Meth and Gun Charges Lead to 26 Year Term for Mexican National in Fresno Courtroom
A Valley man was was sentenced Thursday in a federal courtroom in Fresno to 26 years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd. 118...
San Francisco to Open Tent 'Sobering' Center for Meth Users
SAN FRANCISCO — A center for people experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis will open in San Francisco to help them get sober in a safe place, the latest effort to address the city's rising drug overdoses and rampant street drug use. The center, believed to be the first in the U.S. specifically...
Border Patrol Seizes Meth Haul in Southern California
TEMECULA — A U.S. Border Patrol dog sniffed out more than $190,000 worth of methamphetamine concealed in a vehicle along a Southern California highway, the agency said. An agent patrolling Interstate 15 followed a suspicious vehicle Friday as it exited onto U.S. 395 and parked at a gas station in...
This Meth Ring Stretched From Modesto to Alaska
A Modesto man was sentenced Monday to 26 years and eight months in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution ring reaching to Juneau, Alaska. Listen to this article: U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced the sentence for 32-year-old Joseph Vasquez Jr. in a news release Monday afternoon. According to court...
Freeway Destruction Rampage Ends in Arrest Near Dos Palos
DOS PALOS — A man who may have been high on methamphetamine smashed into eight cars on two Northern California freeway on New Year’s Day, repeatedly ramming some with his pickup truck and injuring three people before plunging his pickup truck into an irrigation ditch and breaking into a home,...
How Bad Teeth and Lack of Dental Care Can Lead to Poverty, Discrimination
Gina Diaz-Nino considers herself an extrovert. But since her mouth began deteriorating after years of methamphetamine use and two fights, she receded into the shadows. Her teeth are yellow, crooked and browning around the corners. Most of her top teeth are either chipped, missing or decaying. When they fell out,...
Mother Allegedly Tried to Smuggle Meth With Son, 6, in Car
SAN DIEGO — Border patrol agents have arrested a woman they say tried to smuggle nearly 70 pounds of methamphetamine through a Southern California checkpoint with her 6-year-old son in the car. Authorities say the woman, a 25-year-old Mexican citizen, was stopped at the Pine Valley checkpoint in San Diego...
Officials Detail Drug Overdose Case Against Political Donor
LOS ANGELES — Gemmel Moore had moved back home with his mother in Texas two years ago and was missing Los Angeles when he texted a photo of syringe in an arm to a wealthy gay man he knew in California. Ed Buck, an influential political activist more than twice...
Final Suspect Arrested in Alleged Modesto Hells Angels Meth Ring
Michael Pack, 32, a prospect with the Modesto Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, has been arrested in connection with an alleged methamphetamine distribution ring. A Department of Justice spokeswoman said that Pack was subsequently arrested after federal agents failed to locate him during a June 25 sweep that netted club president...