PUEBLO, COLO. -- Pueblo Police officers, with the help of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arrested 24 people connected with a major heroin trafficking operation in Pueblo.
The nine-month investigation included 24 arrests Friday. Five people, 33-year-old Felipe Sanchez, 53-year-old Raul Garcia, 27-year-old Miguel Gonzales, 27-year-old Jesse Llamas and 24-year-old Jose Eduardo, are still at-large.
The investigation focused on a heroin trafficking organization led by Juan Rodriguez, one of the men arrested. DEA officials said Rodriguez was responsible for trafficking large amounts of heroin from southern California into Colorado, where he intended to sell it.
On Friday investigators seized 10.3 pounds of black tar heroin from a hidden compartment in a car. They also found $43,131 in cash, two guns and 12 cars during the siege.
“What is disturbing to me about this case is the fact that the bulk of the seized heroin was to be sold in the Pueblo area – not destined for some major city," Acting Special Agent in Charge Merrill said in a statement. "Black tar heroin is an extremely dangerous substance. We ask the help of the public in locating those defendants who are considered fugitives by calling our office in Colorado Springs or the Pueblo Police Department with any information as to their whereabouts.”
The 24 arrestees are facing various drug charges and will be in the Pueblo District Court.
Arrested:
Juan Ramon Rocha Rodriguez, 40, of Pueblo, Colo.
Rodney Lee Hanks, 54, of Mooreport, Calif.
Esmeralda Rodriguez, 36, of Pueblo, Colo.
Josefina Garcia-Rodriguez, 23, of Pueblo, Colo.
Juan Rodriguez-Duarte, 24, of Pueblo, Colo.
Alonso Barajas-Duenas, 45, of Pueblo, Colo.
Jesus Mares-Libraro, 40, of Pueblo, Colo.
Matthew James McDaniel, 28, of Pueblo, Colo.
Sharleen Robin Trujillo, 38, of Pueblo, Colo.
Jessica Aleece Miller, 32, of Pueblo, Colo.
Edward Loomis, 36, of Pueblo, Colo.
Matthew Marshall Day, 32, of Pueblo, Colo.
Eric Alaniz Romero, 27, of Pueblo, Colo.
Justina Virginia Montoya, 25, of Pueblo, Colo.
David Wayne Weber, 20, of Pueblo, Colo.
Donald Henry Beckenmeyer, 31, of Pueblo, Colo.
Jared Thomas Peterson, 30, of Pueblo, Colo.
Justin Robert Bigner, 32, of Pueblo, Colo.
Jessica Nicole Breaux, 33, of Pueblo, Colo.
Aurea Mendoza, 21, of Pueblo, Colo.
John Mariano, 26, of Pueblo, Colo.
Jose Angel Contreras-Suarez, 21, of Pueblo, Colo.
Two Juveniles
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM