READING, PA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain and Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams announced that ten individuals from Reading were charged by a Second Superseding Indictment with murder, kidnapping, drug distribution, and firearms offenses. At a press conference at the District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney McSwain noted that these charges come about seven months after six of the same individuals were initially indicted on drug distribution and firearms offenses as part of a drug trafficking organization known as “Trinidad” operating in and around Reading. The additional offenses announced today relate to multiple homicides and kidnappings that occurred in 2017 and 2018, including a quadruple homicide that occurred on January 28, 2018.

The ten charged individuals are:

Jesus Feliciano-Trinidad, a/k/a “Chewy,” a/k/a “Che,” 29;

Yomar Velazquez-Figueroa, a/k/a “Negrito,” 21;

Fitzgerald Daliot-Rios, a/k/a “Barber,” 29;

Mariela Alvarado, a/k/a “Onyx,” 38;

Dewayne Quinones, a/k/a “Hombre,” 25;

Owen Malave-Medina, 22;

Pedro Sanchez-Laporte, a/k/a “Javi,” 28;

Lillian Garcia-Ortiz, a/k/a “Lilly,” 20;

Angel Rivera-Silva, a/k/a “Estrellita,” 41; and

Mayco Alvarez-Jackson, a/k/a “Pipon,” 22.

 

The charges stem from a years’ long investigation into the receipt, processing, and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine by the defendants from June 2017 until March 21, 2018.  The defendants are accused of using a number of buildings, residences, firearms and acts of violence to further their drug dealing efforts in and around the Reading area. 

Included within the allegations of the Second Superseding Indictment are events in which various defendants conspired to shoot and kill Miguel Reyes on December 13, 2017; kidnap, shoot, and kill Hector Gonzalez-Rivera on January 24, 2018; and shoot and kill Jarlyn Lantigua-Tejada, Juan Rodriguez, Nelson Onofre, and Joshua Santos on January 28, 2018. The Second Superseding Indictment also alleges various defendants in this drug trafficking group conspired to shoot individuals on February 25, 2018 and February 26, 2018, and then conspired to commit another kidnapping on February 27, 2018. 

“This has been a complex, ongoing investigation since I was here in Reading in March 2019 to announce the original charges against some of these same defendants,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The current defendants now face some of the most serious, violent charges that exist under federal law. I want to commend District Attorney Adams for the strong partnership that exists between our Offices that made these charges possible. My Office is committed to working with the Berks County District Attorney’s Office and all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to destroy violent drug gangs and keep the Reading community safe.”

“As charged, this organization created mayhem in the City of Reading,” said District Attorney Adams. “Through the cooperative efforts of my Office, the Reading Police and many of our Municipal, State and Federal partners, we have now dismantled a violent drug trafficking organization.”

“Violent drug gangs destroy communities,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “This superseding indictment sends the message that the FBI and our local law enforcement partners will never stop working to make our communities safer and free from violent crime.”

If convicted, defendants Feliciano-Trinidad, Velazquez-Figueroa, Daliot-Rios, Quinones, Sanchez-Laporte, Rivera-Silva, and Alvarez-Jackson face death eligible offenses.

If convicted, defendants Alvarado and Malave-Medina face up to life imprisonment. 

If convicted, defendant Garcia-Ortiz faces up to 40 years imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, the Berks County Detectives, and the Reading Police Department, with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police and the Montgomery County Detectives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda M. Michetti.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that eight individuals from Reading were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on 21 counts of drug distribution and firearms offenses. The individuals are:

Jesus Feliciano-Trinidad, a/k/a “Chewy,” a/k/a “Che,” 29;

Sharon Melendez-Ortiz, a/k/a “La Rubia,” 39;

Fitzgerald Daliot-Rios, 29;

Yomar Velazquez-Figueroa, a/k/a “Negrito,” 21;

Dewayne Quinones, a/k/a “Hombre,” 25;

Gisela Mendez, 42;

Mariela Alvarado, a/k/a “Onyx,” 38; and

Owen Malave-Medina, 22.

 

The charges stem from a months’ long investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, the Berks County Detectives, the Reading Police Department, and the FBI into the receipt, processing, and distribution of a wide variety of drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine.  According to the indictment, the defendants used a number of buildings, residences, firearms, and acts of violence to further their drug dealing efforts in and around the Reading area.  The indictment further alleges that various defendants turned to proposed violence, conspiring to shoot certain individuals and commit a kidnapping in February 2018.

If convicted, defendants Feliciano-Trinidad, Melendez-Ortiz, Velazquez-Figueroa, Daliot-Rios, Alvarado, and Malave-Medina face up to life imprisonment.  If convicted, defendants Quinones and Mendez face up to 40 years imprisonment.

“These are serious federal charges with serious federal penalties,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “My Office is committed to working with the Berks County District Attorney’s Office and all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to keep the Reading community safe.”

“If convicted of the alleged crimes, this drug trafficking organization would be one of the most violent organizations that we have ever dealt with in Berks County,” said Berks County District Attorney John. T. Adams.

“Violent drug gangs have such a corrosive effect on society,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Their crimes affect people’s peace of mind and quality of life. The FBI is committed to supporting our local law enforcement partners as we all work toward safer communities. We’re determined to make a difference, one corner, one block, one neighborhood at a time.”

The case was investigated by the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, the Berks County Detectives, the Reading Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan B. Ortiz and Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda Michetti.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.