A drug dealer and member of Riverside’s Casa Blanca Rifa street gang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for helping to lead an organization that trafficked pounds of methamphetamine from suppliers in Mexico and the U.S. to the Inland Empire, officials announced Tuesday.
Javier Rodriguez, 57, was sentenced late Monday after pleading guilty on March 18 to eight felonies, the U.S. Department of Justice stated in its news release.
Investigators learned Rodriguez and others purchased pound quantities of methamphetamine from suppliers in Mexico, Los Angeles and Riverside counties from at least April 2020 until Aug. 2020.
“Prosecutors argued that Rodriguez also trafficked drugs from his mother’s home,” the DOJ stated.
Rodriguez was arrested in 2021 and has been in federal custody since pleading guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine; three counts of possessing methamphetamine for distribution; one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition; and two counts of attempted international promotional money laundering.
The investigation into Rodriguez was part of an operation focusing on the criminal activities of the Casa Banca Rifa gang who have been associated with drug trafficking and violence in Riverside and the surrounding community, the DOJ stated.
More than 150 pounds of methamphetamine and $31,035 in cash were seized during the investigation.
Rodriguez was the 16th and final defendant sentenced in the case, the DOJ stated.
A drug dealer and member of Riverside’s Casa Blanca Rifa street gang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for helping to lead an organization that trafficked pounds of methamphetamine from suppliers in Mexico and the U.S. to the Inland Empire, officials announced Tuesday. Javier Rodriguez, 57, was sentenced late Monday after pleading guilty on […]
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