Nine people arrested as part of a large-scale drug-enforcement blitz in January have reached plea agreements with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
Pleas were entered earlier this month and sentencing for all defendants is set for various times from mid May to mid June, according to Gavin Young, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office. Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith said most, if not all, who pleaded will serve some prison time as a result of their plea agreements.
Young, too, said he believed prison time was likely in most of the cases.
Jeffery L. Marshall, 31, Israel Perez Garcia, 30, Sarah J. Oestman, 24, Darren Pinion, 26, Clint E. Walker, 19, and Eulogio Valverde all pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine or marijuana.
Two previously unidentified juveniles, Samuel Galindo and Carlos Tavarez-Zuniga, were charged as adults. Galindo pleaded guilty and Zuniga pleaded no contest to conspiracy.
David Bain, 49, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and possession of drug-use paraphernalia.
Others charged in the case are scheduled to have preliminary hearings on May 11 and 12. Check back with NewsCow for updates in those cases.
Those charged were arrested as part of a large-scale, drug-enforcement blitz that was three years in the making. Authorities spent that time arranging drug buys with suspects and learning about the hierarchy of the operation.
A number of arrest and search warrants were executed in January, when most of the defendants were busted.
