The three defendants in the 612 pound methamphetamine raid on Roop Road in 2010 were sentenced in federal court Wednesday, two of them getting 12-year prison sentences and one getting 16 years on account of a prior drug felony, according to Mike Beckwith, prosecuting attorney for the case.
Sergio Murillo-Valencia, 36, (who got the heavier sentence), Hector Salazar-Borrayo, 45, and Fabian Figueroa-Ayala, were sentenced the United States District Court in Sacramento Sept. 4, after pleading guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of meth (they were actually caught with 277,599 grams).
It was the largest meth bust in the continental United States at the time – but because prosecutors were never able to pinpoint just how involved the three Gilroy residents (and Mexican nationals) were in the cartel’s operation, the suspects plead guilty early on in the court proceedings and were given a favorable plea bargain.
After they complete their time in prison, Murillo-Valencia, Salazar-Borrayo and Figueroa-Ayala will be deported to Mexico, Beckwith said.
Because they were sentenced in federal court, the men are expected to spend 85 percent of their sentence behind bars, instead of the typical 50 percent that state criminals typically serve.
At 7 a.m. on Aug. 19, 2010, shortly after officers raided the drug house, and awoke Murillo-Valencia, Salazar-Borrayo and Figueroa-Ayala, the three men were arrested, court documents indicate.
In the house, investigators found receipts for the distribution of more than 3,300 pounds of meth in less than a five-month period, according to court documents. In addition, they obtained 15 pounds of cocaine and two semi-automatic handguns.
