April 13, 2009

GRAND JURY INDICTS EAST PALO ALTO WOMAN ON DRUG CHARGES

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Deisy Valdovinos Pacheco, of 2251 Illinois Avenue in East Palo Alto, yesterday with two counts of distributing controlled substances, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

According to the indictment, on Feb. 4, Valdovinos Pacheco, 28, allegedly possessed more than 1 kilogram of heroin, and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute the drugs to others. Valdovinos Pacheco’s residence was the subject of a search warrant that was executed that day, along with multiple other search warrants across California as part of an ATF-led investigation into narcotics and gun trafficking known as “Operation Smack Down.”

Valdovinos Pacheco was arrested at her residence during the execution of the search warrant and has been in custody since then on related charges in San Mateo County. Her initial appearance in federal court has not yet been scheduled.

The maximum statutory penalty for each of the counts in the indictment, alleging violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), is life imprisonment and a fine of $4,000,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

S. Waqar Hasib and Aaron Wegner are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Hui Chen. The prosecution is the result of a two month investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force – working together as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.

Please note, an indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Ms. Valdovinos Pacheco must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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For more information on federal criminal defense law, contact the Law Offices of Joseph Shemaria of Los Angeles, California.