Riverside gang member sentenced for trafficking meth throughout Inland Empire
A gang-affiliated drug trafficker who joined more than a dozen others in acquiring and selling methamphetamine throughout the Inland Empire and elsewhere was bound for federal prison today to serve a 15-year sentence.
Javier Xavier Rodriguez, 57, of Riverside pleaded guilty in March to multiple felony counts, including conspiracy to import meth, possession of controlled substances for distribution and attempted international money laundering.
On Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal in Riverside imposed the sentence deemed justifiable under the plea agreement.
Rodriguez is a documented member of the Casa Blanca Rifa street gang, which has its roots on the west end of Riverside and whose members have been prosecuted for a range of offenses over the years. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the defendant was part of a 16-person ring involved in drug trafficking from April 2020 to August 2020.
He's the last of the conspirators to be sentenced. The ring leader, 51-year-old Timoteo Gomez of Riverside, was ordered in May to serve 21 years in federal prison. Co-defendants have received sentences ranging from two to 12 years, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, during a multi-agency investigation, it was learned "Rodriguez and others purchased pound quantities of meth from their suppliers in Mexico, as well as in Los Angeles and Riverside counties."
"Other members of the conspiracy further distributed meth in the Inland Empire,'' the agency stated. "Prosecutors argued that Rodriguez also trafficked drugs from his mother's home."
The investigation led to the seizure of 150 pounds of meth and $31,000 from the conspirators' depositories, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A search of Rodriguez's property turned up 150 rounds of ammunition, which he was barred from possessing due to a half-dozen prior felony convictions, prosecutors said.
He was indicted with his co-conspirators in May 2021.
