SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Victor Magana, 28, of Woodland, was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Magana was one of 27 federal defendants arrested in February 2018 on narcotics and weapons-related charges as part of Operation Silent Night, a multi‑agency law enforcement investigation into coordinated criminal activity in Woodland. Beginning in the spring of 2016, the investigation uncovered organized criminal activity in Woodland with ties to criminal organizations in California’s jail and prison system. Although centered in Yolo County, the investigation revealed that at least nine other California counties were negatively impacted by these criminal organizations: Sacramento, Sutter, Colusa, Yuba, Del Norte, Solano, Fresno, Santa Clara, and Siskiyou.
On Aug. 5, 2021, Magana pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and admitted that on five different occasions in 2017, he had sold methamphetamine to a confidential source in various places in Woodland.
Operation Silent Night is the product of an investigation by the FBI, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, Woodland Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol. The following agencies provided substantial assistance: Colusa County Sheriff’s Office, Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, West Sacramento Police Department, Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, Davis Police Department, Yuba City Police Department, Yuba County Sheriff’s Office, Sutter County Sheriff’s Office, Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Vacaville Police Department, the Correctional Intelligence Task Force (CITF), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the cases.
The other defendants that have been convicted are listed below:
• Aldo Arellano, 28, of Marysville, was convicted of distribution of methamphetamine and sentenced eight years in prison.
• Raul Barajas, 24, of Woodland, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and was sentenced to five years in prison.
• Patrick Botello, 36, of Pelican Bay State Prison, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2022.
• Israel Covarrubias, 30, of Woodland, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
• Mike Do, 40, of Sacramento, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2022.
• Milton Escobedo, 33, of Woodland, was convicted of distribution of cocaine and sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.
• Rachel Felix, 43, of Woodland, was convicted of distribution of methamphetamine and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
• Ashley Habash, 32, of Marysville, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2022.
• Jose Heredia, 39, of Los Banos, was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and sentenced to five years in prison.
• Edgar Jimenez, 23, of Sacramento, was convicted of using a cellphone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense and sentenced to three years in prison.
• Stefanie Lavan, 69, of Woodland, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and sentenced to two years in prison.
• John Lemus, 35, of Woodland, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.
• Jose Madrigal-Vega, 37, Woodland, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and sentenced to eight years in prison.
• James Masterson, 28, of Newcastle, Pennsylvania, was convicted of using a cellphone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense and sentenced to four years in prison.
• Brenda Miranda, 25, of Napa, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and sentenced to five years of supervised release.
• Reginald Pajimola, 28, of Marysville, was convicted of using a cellphone to facilitate a drug trafficking offense and sentenced to two years of probation.
• Mercedez Silva-Sims, 26, of Colusa, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and sentenced to five years of supervised release.
• Joshua Sims, 27, of Colusa, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, and attempted distribution of methamphetamine and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• Erica Umbay, 47, of Woodland, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to six years in prison.
• Trevor White, 27, of Sacramento, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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 being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.