VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Jose Trinidad Bueno Garcia of Van Nuys pled guilty to heading a large-scale drug sales scheme responsible for distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine across Ventura County.
On Dec. 17, Garcia pled guilty to conspiracy to possess fentanyl as well as multiple special allegations including that the crime involved more than four kilograms of fentanyl and that the operation was carried out with planning, sophistication, and professionalism shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, detectives conducted an investigation between May and October of this year into a drug trafficking operation out of Los Angeles County.
The investigation revealed that the scheme sourced fentanyl and methamphetamine from Mexico before transporting and selling them in Ventura County noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On Oct. 1, detectives served a search warrant at Garcia's home where about 3,574 grams of fentanyl, 261 grams of methamphetamine, $32,406 in cash, and evidence of drug sales was seized detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The image below, courtesy of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, shoes some of the seized items from the Oct. 1 search of Garcia's home.
Garcia is currently scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing on Jan. 21, 2026, where he is expected to be sentenced to 15 years in state prison with 13 of those years come from enhancements authorized after the passage of Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act in November of 2024, explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
That law increased the sentencing penalties defendants face depending on the gross weight of the narcotics involved in their charged violations and took effect in December of 2024.
"We are committed to lowering the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in Ventura County and
holding offenders accountable," said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. "Anyone who peddles this poison in Ventura County will be prosecuted vigorously."
The post Jose Trinidad Bueno Garcia of Van Nuys convicted of heading large-scale narcotics sales operation appeared first on News Channel 3-12.