FRESNO, CA — Cesar Larios-Ortega, 40, a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, during two meetings in May 2019, Larios-Ortega and co‑defendant Rodolfo Cardenas-Lara, 43, also a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, sold 12 pounds of methamphetamine to a customer at a negotiated price of $1,750 per pound.
This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker is prosecuting the case.
On Feb. 5, Cardenas-Lara pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 7. Larios-Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Drozd on June 11. The defendants face a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of at least 10 years in prison, a maximum term of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.