FRESNO, Calif. — Isaiah Garcia, 20, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between Oct. 2, 2020, and Dec. 16, 2020, Isaiah Garcia and his brother, Mario Garcia, 28, who was incarcerated in the Fresno County Jail in an unrelated case, agreed that Isaiah Garcia would traffic fentanyl pills. The conspiracy was discovered when investigators listened to their recorded jail telephone calls. Federal agents then searched Isaiah Garcia’s residence and found over 1,200 fentanyl pills inside his bedroom.
The case is the result of an investigation by FORT, a multi-agency team composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio is prosecuting the case.
Isaiah Garcia is set for sentencing on Oct. 31, 2022, and Mario Garcia is set for sentencing on Sept. 6, 2022. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum sentence of 40 years and a fine up to $5 million. 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.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.