Bakersfield, CA – Mark Garcia, 25, from Lamont, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Garcia was involved in a scheme to distribute and possess methamphetamine with intent to sell.
Court documents revealed that in March 2021, Garcia and co-defendant Jorge Calderon-Campos, 44, a Mexican national living in Bakersfield, obtained 26 pounds of methamphetamine from Alberto Gomez-Santiago, 39, also a Mexican national. Garcia was arrested after law enforcement seized the drugs from his vehicle during a traffic stop.
This transaction was part of a broader investigation targeting Calderon-Campos, who was under federal wiretap surveillance. The investigation led to the seizure of over 86 pounds of methamphetamine and one kilogram of heroin. Additionally, it uncovered an illegal cockfighting ring, which prompted a second indictment for Calderon-Campos under the Animal Welfare Act.
Garcia had previously been prosecuted for the same 26-pound meth transaction in state court, where he received only a four-day jail sentence. Calderon-Campos and Gomez-Santiago both pleaded guilty to federal charges, receiving prison sentences of four years and nine months, and eight years and one month, respectively. Calderon-Campos was also sentenced to five years for his involvement in the illegal cockfighting operation.
