Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy announced that three men were sentenced to state prison today as a result of an undercover investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine and heroin in Burlington and Ocean counties.
The following three men were sentenced today by Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County. They pleaded guilty on Jan. 11.
Guadalupe Madrigal-Mejia, 36, of New Egypt (Plumsted Township, Ocean County), aka “Lupe,” was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. He pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree distribution of heroin.
Juan Mendez, 48, of New Egypt, was sentenced to six years in state prison. He pleaded guilty to second-degree possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
Antonio Esqueda, 34, of New Egypt, was sentenced to three years in state prison on a charge of third-degree possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.
Two other defendants are awaiting sentencing. Elias Corona-Sanchez, 32, of North Hanover, aka “Peligro,” pleaded guilty on Jan. 11 to a charge of first-degree distribution of heroin and faces a recommended sentence of 10 years in state prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22. Corona-Sanchez and the three men sentenced today were charged in an indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau on Dec. 5, 2014. A fifth defendant, Juan Gutierrez-Valencia, 25, of Pemberton Township, was indicted separately and pleaded guilty on Jan. 19 to first-degree possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and fourth-degree obstructing the administration of law.
He struck and injured two state troopers with a car while trying to flee from the State Police during a drug transaction in Mount Laurel in July 2014. A third state trooper fired at him, grazing his arm. The obstruction charge related to the incident in which he struck the troopers, and the gun charge related to a stolen 9mm handgun seized from his car when he was arrested. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20 and faces a recommended sentence of 10 years in prison, including 3 ½ years of parole ineligibility.
Gutierrez-Valencia was arrested on July 7, 2014 at a hotel on Fellowship Road in Mount Laurel, where he met an undercover detective who had arranged to buy two kilograms of crystal meth from him. The undercover detective got into the vehicle driven by Gutierrez-Valencia, who showed him a black gym bag containing a large amount of methamphetamine. Once he saw the drugs, the detective got out of the car and signaled members of the State Police TEAMS Unit to arrest Gutierrez-Valencia. Gutierrez-Valencia tried to flee, striking and injuring the two state troopers. Gutierrez-Valencia suffered a gunshot wound to his arm when one trooper fired at him. Investigators arrested him and executed a search warrant for the vehicle, seizing two kilos of methamphetamine and a stolen 9mm handgun.
The other four defendants were arrested on July 8, 2014, at the house where Madrigal-Mejia lived with Corona-Sanchez and Esqueda on Jacobstown Road in New Egypt.
The undercover detective had arranged to buy two kilograms of black tar heroin from Corona-Sanchez and Madrigal-Mejia at the house for a price of $65,000 per kilo. When Madrigal-Mejia and Corona-Sanchez showed the undercover detective the heroin, the detective signaled members of the State Police TEAMS Unit to make arrests and execute a search warrant at the house. Mendez, who had supplied the two kilograms of heroin, was arrested in a vehicle outside the house. Esqueda was arrested in his bedroom, where investigators found a quantity of cocaine.
Other quantities of cocaine, some packaged for distribution, were discovered in the kitchen and in hall closets. A digital scale, a heat sealer and packaging materials were found by investigators in common areas of the house.
Madrigal-Mejia and Corona-Sanchez also were charged in connection with an undercover purchase of one-half kilogram of crystal meth that the undercover detective made on May 2, 2014 outside a convenience store on Route 130 in Florence.
The drugs were delivered to the detective by an unnamed co-conspirator, who delivered the purchase price of $15,000 to Madrigal-Mejia and Corona-Sanchez, who were parked nearby.