Ringleader of northern California methamphetamine trafficking scheme sentenced to 12 years in prison
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A Stockton man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Thomas Jaime Orozco, 35, was previously convicted of serving as the leader of a methamphetamine distribution ring based in San Joaquin County. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Beck with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
According to court documents, Orozco supplied five co-defendants with methamphetamine which they, in turn, sold to an undercover agent and others. On two occasions, an undercover agent purchased nearly two pounds of methamphetamine from Orozco’s co-conspirators. On Nov. 29, 2012, the undercover agent agreed to meet Orozco in Lodi to purchase 10 pounds of methamphetamine. Co-conspirators Vincent Camarillo, 29, and Theodore Ohagen IV, 25, both of Stockton, came with Orozco. Agents arrested all three at the site of the deal and discovered that Camarillo was carrying a stolen, loaded handgun concealed in his waistband.
Following the arrests, investigators recovered numerous weapons and drug paraphernalia at a home occupied by co-conspirator Jeffrey Lamendola, 53, of Lodi. The seized items included two additional loaded handguns, four pistol magazines, 70 rounds of ammunition, 55 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, baggies, needles, and 215 grams of marijuana. At the Lodi residence shared by Camarillo and Ohagen authorities seized two bulletproof vests, seven rifle magazines, one pistol magazine, about 700 rounds of ammunition, nearly $15,000 in cash, 12 cellphones, 24 grams of cocaine, and nearly 10 kilograms of marijuana.
“This sentence is a direct result of the tireless work HSI agents and our local law enforcement partners have carried out to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking rings in a joint effort to keep our communities safe,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Francisco.
Orozco is the last of the six defendants in the case to be sentenced. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, Camarillo was sentenced to 10 years in prison late last year. Lamendola and Ohagen were sentenced earlier this year, receiving prison terms of seven and a half years and four years respectively.
Two other defendants in the case, Sarah Torreblanca, 29, of San Jose, and Lisa Elliott, 55, of Lodi, pleaded guilty to using a cell phone for the purpose of drug trafficking. Torreblanca received a four-year prison term; Elliot was sentenced to three years.
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