MEDFORD, Ore. – A man from Talent appeared in a federal courtroom to plead guilty to distributing cocaine and trading the drug for firearms.
The U.S. Department of Justice said between July and August of 2017, Jonathan Alan Ochoa conspired with two other men to send over a pound of cocaine from California to Oregon with the intent to distribute. At about the same time, Ochoa and a co-conspirator negotiated a sale of cocaine with an undercover BATF agent in exchange for multiple firearms.
In August of 2017, co-conspirators delivered about 2.2 pounds of cocaine to Ochoa in Medford, according to prosecutors. Firearms and cash were supposed to be exchanged, but Ochoa and his co-conspirators were arrested and the firearms seized by law enforcement agents.
On Monday, October 29, 2018, Ochoa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, a $5 million fine and four years supervised release. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in February 2019.
One of Ochoa’s co-conspirators, identified as Gonzalo Manzo, Jr., pleaded guilty to the same charges on August 27, 2018. Rodolfo Quevedo, another man implicated in the case, is still facing criminal charges—his case remains pending in federal court.
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