SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment today against Fidel Andrade, 33, of Stockton, and Neftali Castillo Montes, 40, a Mexican national residing in Stockton, charging them with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and unlawful use of a cellphone, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between January and October of 2020, Montes sold an FBI confidential source over 9 ounces of cocaine. Andrade, who was working as a correctional officer at the time, was Montes’ cocaine supplier. Additionally, officers discovered an additional 2 ounces of cocaine during a search warrant executed at Andrade’s house on March 3, 2021.
This case is the product of an investigation by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Customs and Borders Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Tracy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, both Andrade and Montes face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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.