WAYCROSS, GA:  Two drug traffickers, including an illegal alien with ties to a Mexican drug cartel, will spend more than a decade in federal prison after sentencing in a methamphetamine conspiracy.

Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, a/k/a “Richard Hernandez,” a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani,” 32, of C’daltimairano, Guerroro, Mexico, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, and Ryon Bland, 32, of Douglas, Ga., was sentenced to 110 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Both were sentenced for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute large quantities of crystal methamphetamine. After completion of their sentences, Santana-Hernadez will be deported, and Bland will be placed on court-supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.

Santana-Herndandez, Bland and nine other conspirators pled guilty after their indictment by a federal grand jury in October 2018 for drug trafficking and firearms-related offenses.

According to court filings and testimony, in early 2018, the Telfair County Sheriff’s Office received information that Donna Bazemore, a/k/a “Dirty D,” 45, of McRae, Ga., was distributing large quantities of methamphetamine from her residence in Telfair County. Investigators searched the residence and seized 16 bags of methamphetamine, a bag of cocaine, two bags of MDMA (a/k/a Ecstasy), at least six firearms, a video security system, and other drug trafficking tools. Agents arrested Bland, who was at the location breaking down methamphetamine into smaller bags for distribution.

The investigation revealed that Santana-Hernandez was a source of supply for the drug trafficking organization that operated in Telfair County and elsewhere. Santana-Hernandez, who resided in the Atlanta area illegally, received kilograms of methamphetamine from the “La Familia” cartel in Mexico. In August 2018, Santana-Hernandez delivered two kilograms of methamphetamine to the Southern District of Georgia via a courier. Federal agents then arrested Santana-Hernadez when he came to a Dublin, Ga., restaurant to collect payment.

In addition to Santana-Hernandez, Bland and Bazemore, the following people also have been convicted for their roles in the conspiracy:

Enio Camacho-Pineda, a/k/a “Tony,” a/k/a “Tony Montana,” 31, of Atlanta;

Enrique Lopez, a/k/a “Ricky,” 44, of Douglas, Ga.;

Eugene Wright, a/k/a “Burt,” 52, of Millwood, Ga.;

Cristian Jesus Martinez, 19, of Mexico;

Angela Hurst, 38, of Douglas, Ga.;

Kristel Merritt, 43, of Douglas, Ga.;

Angie McCoy, a/k/a “Angie Woods,” 24, Douglas, Ga.; and,

Kenneth Woodrow Mancil, 53, Sylvania, Ga.

“These sentences demonstrate that our partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement are the key to targeting and dismantling organized crime,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “With hard time for their crimes, two drug traffickers will pay the penalty for spreading poison in our communities.”

Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division stated, “This sentencing is a great example of what can be achieved when DEA works hand-in-hand with its law enforcement counterparts and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This trafficker was clearly working under the direction of the La Familia drug cartel based in Mexico. Consequently, he will spend in excess of a decade in federal prison.”

“Narcotic traffickers have no regard for the well-being or safety of our Georgia communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Art Peralta. “Narcotic trafficking and violence go hand in hand, and these sentences prove that our efforts to identify and arrest those individuals who promote violent crime through the distribution of narcotics is having a positive impact.”  

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the premier U.S. Department of Justice program to dismantle multi-jurisdictional drug trafficking organizations, and was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the U.S. Marshals Service, Telfair County Sheriff’s Office, Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas-Coffee Drug Unit, and other local law enforcement agencies. The case also falls under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Harper and E. Greg Gilluly, Jr.

WAYCROSS DIVISION, GA.: Two men have pled guilty to conspiring to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine from Atlanta and throughout the Southern District of Georgia.

Enio Camacho-Pineda, a/k/a “Tony,” a/k/a “Tony Montana,” 31, of Atlanta, and Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, a/k/a “Richard Hernandez, a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani,” 31, a Mexican national illegally residing in Atlanta, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

The charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and potential fines of up to $10 million each. The defendants will be placed on at least five years of supervised release after completion of their prison sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.

In October 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Camacho-Pineda, Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, and nine other defendants with drug trafficking and firearms-related offenses for operating a drug trafficking organization that conspired to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine Telfair, Dodge, Laurens, Bacon, Ware, and Coffee Counties, within the Southern District of Georgia, and elsewhere. 

Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies seized kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and a cache of firearms during the investigation as part of Operation Rat Trap. The investigation began when agents received information that Camacho-Pineda was connected to a Mexican cartel and was supplying other members of the conspiracy operating in Waycross, Ga., and elsewhere. In July 2018, Camacho-Pineda traveled to Ware County to collect drug-sale proceeds when agents attempted to arrest him. He fled in his vehicle for about 10 miles and travelled in excess of 130 miles per hour, ultimately wrecking the vehicle.

Agents arrested Santana-Hernandez after he traveled from Atlanta to Dublin, Ga., to collect drug proceeds for a previous drug deal involving two kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. 

“Fighting drug traffickers is hard, dangerous work, and the law enforcement professionals in our federal, state and local agencies do a tremendous job of shutting these operations down,” said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “Let the drug thugs hear me: Dedicated prosecutors will bring ironclad cases so those who push poison are locked away.”

“ATF is continuing our partnership with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in our efforts to eliminate these violent armed drug trafficking organizations,” said Lenwood S. Reeves, Resident Agent in Charge of the Savannah Field Office of the ATF. “We will continue these efforts to eliminate violence and drugs from our communities.”

The case is being investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), the centerpiece of the United States Attorney General’s drug strategy to reduce the availability of drugs by disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and related criminal enterprises. The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia State Patrol, and the Sheriff’s Offices from Telfair, Ware, Coffee and Laurens counties.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Harper III and E. Greg Gilluly Jr.

WAYCROSS, GA: Eleven people have been indicted on federal charges for importing and trafficking methamphetamine throughout southeast Georgia.

The 17-count, 20-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury charges the defendants in a longstanding conspiracy to import and distribute methamphetamine, a deadly and highly addictive stimulant, in Laurens, Ware, Telfair, Dodge, Bacon and Coffee counties, said Southern District United States Attorney Bobby L. Christine. Multiple firearms were seized during the operation, and several of the defendants are charged with possession of a firearm while trafficking drugs.

Charged in the federal indictment are:

Enio Camacho-Pineda (31, Atlanta Area)

a/k/a “Tony,” a/k/a “Tony Montana”;

Ricardo Santana-Hernandez, (31, Mexico)

a/k/a “Richard Hernandez,” a/k/a “Armond,” a/k/a “Armani”;

Donna Bazemore, (45, McRae, Georgia);

a/k/a “Donna Spivey,”, a/k/a “Dirty D”;

Enrique Lopez, (44, Douglas, Georgia)

a/k/a “Ricky”;

Eugene Wright, (52, Millwood, Georgia)

a/k/a “Burt”;

Cristian Jesus Martinez, (19, Mexico);

Angela Hurst, (38, Douglas, Georgia);

Kristel Merritt, (43, Douglas, Georgia);

Ryan Bland, (32, Jacksonville, Georgia);

Angie McCoy, (24, Douglas, Georgia);

a/k/a “Angie Woods”; and,

Kenneth Woodrow Mancil, (53, Sylvania, Georgia)

With the exception of Wright, who is a fugitive, all of the defendants are under arrest and have been ordered detained until trial. Most of them have holds against them because they are facing deportation as illegal aliens, have pending state charges, and/or were on probation or parole at the time they committed the offenses. If convicted, all of the defendants face a statutory minimum punishment of 20 years to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. 

“This case is an outstanding example of local, state, and federal agencies working together to identify and dismantle a criminal organization,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “There is a growing threat that methamphetamine trafficking will increase as crackdowns succeed against illegal opioids, but our law enforcement and prosecutors will slam the prison door on those who would distribute this poison in our communities.”

ATF Resident Agent in Charge Tim Graden said, “ATF is proud of the relationships that we have with the community and all of our law enforcement partners. This investigation is another example of the success that we can accomplish by working together. Reducing violent crime is ATF’s goal, and taking armed drug traffickers off the street is one of many methods that ATF uses to accomplish our mission.

“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has partnered with local and federal partners to cripple drug trafficking networks operating throughout the state,” said GBI Special Agent in Charge Jamie Jones. “This should be a wake-up call to the traffickers that they are not immune from detection just because they operate in rural areas.”

“We appreciate our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners whose combined efforts have resulted in the dismantling of a dangerous and far-reaching criminal drug trafficking network, seemingly intent on setting up shop in rural Telfair County,” said Sheriff Chris Steverson. “I am thankful for the support provided in this case by the GBI, ATF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and I look forward to similar operations in the future.” 

Ware County Sheriff Randy Royal added, “I have always valued and appreciated the close-knit partnerships between our agency and our federal and state partners. The seamless takedown operation using Ware County Sheriff's personnel, Georgia State Patrol, and federal agents was a true testament to what can be accomplished when all of law enforcement works together in the spirit of brotherhood and cooperation.”

A criminal indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case, which is a United States Department of Justice initiative designed to dismantle large drug trafficking organizations who operate in multiple jurisdictions. This case also falls under the United States Department of Justice initiative Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program designed to coordinate law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts in order to remove violent crime from communities. The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), and the Ware County and Coffee County sheriff’s offices, with assistance from the United States Marshal’s Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Harper and Greg Gilluly.

For any questions, please contact Barry Paschal at the United States Attorney’s Office at (912) 652-4422.