SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (CBS12) — Two men convicted in a major Bay Area drug trafficking case were sentenced to federal prison after being extradited from Honduras, U.S. prosecutors said.
On March 5, 35-year-old Jorge Viera-Chirinos was sentenced to 40 months in prison. Seven days later, 32-year-old Elmar Matute was sentenced to 36 months in prison. Both men, who are nationals of Honduras, were extradited to the United States in February 2024, following their arrests in Honduras.
Viera-Chirinos and 13 co-defendants were charged in August 2019 for trafficking large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine base, and cocaine. Viera-Chirinos had been released on bond but fled to Honduras in September 2020. After his extradition, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to drug distribution and admitted to arranging housing for street-level drug dealers in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.
Matute, indicted in December 2019, had a warrant for his arrest. He was apprehended in Honduras, extradited, and later pleaded guilty to multiple drug trafficking charges, including possession with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine base, and cocaine.
In Matute’s case, authorities seized over 1,400 grams of drugs during a 2018 search of his Richmond home, including 663 grams of heroin, 168 grams of methamphetamine, 386 grams of cocaine base, and 175 grams of cocaine.
Both men are now serving sentences for their roles in the trafficking ring, which had ties to major drug distribution operations in the Bay Area.
