Manuel Riviera-Felix, aka Felipe Garcia, 27, of Mexico, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill to 10 years and 11 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Rivera-Felix was a leader of a large scale drug organization in Bakersfield responsible for the importation and sale of large quantities of methamphetamine. Between March 1, 2014, and July 10, 2014, Rivera-Felix conspired with Juan Angel Lopez, 33, of Bakersfield, Edi Vega Bustamante 22, of Mexico, and others to distribute up to 45 kilograms of methamphetamine. Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. Bustamante pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to five years in prison.
This case was the product of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Bakersfield Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Brian K. Delaney prosecuted the case.
