Carlos Gerardo Blanco, 27, and Henry Polin Morales III, 21, both of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, between November 2014 and December 2015, Blanco conspired with Morales and others to distribute methamphetamine to various drug dealers and users in Kern County and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Blanco and Morales admit they distributed between 1.5 kilograms and 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.
According to the plea agreement, on May 6, 2015, Blanco purchased approximately five pounds of crystal methamphetamine in the Los Angeles metropolitan area that he intended to distribute for profit with the help of Morales and other co-conspirators. Agents seized the crystal methamphetamine from Blanco, Morales, and another convicted co-conspirator, Justin Rivera, 22, of Bakersfield, as they attempted to transport the narcotics on a commercial bus bound for Las Cruces, New Mexico.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and task force officers from Kern County Probation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.
Salvador Morales was earlier convicted in this matter and was sentenced on September 26, 2016, to six years and three months in prison. Jose Alejandro Jacobo, 25, of Bakersfield, was convicted in this matter and sentenced on March 13, 2017, to seven years and eight months in prison. Two other defendants have pleaded guilty to this conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing — Justin Rivera and Carlos Blanco’s wife Josefina Blanco, 25, a Mexican national.
Blanco and Morales are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on October 16, 2017. Blanco faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Morales faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
