GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Almarud Duarte, David Garcia, Eduardo Penaloza-Pacheco and Kevin Tello have been convicted for their respective roles in the conspiracy to sell kilograms of methamphetamine. During the investigation, police officers seized around 200 kilograms of methamphetamine.
“Illegal drugs are wreaking havoc on our communities, causing significant suffering to drug users and the families who love them,” said US Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We thank our law enforcement partners for their dedication in fighting the scourge of drug trafficking and for helping keep our streets safe.”
“Finding, arresting and prosecuting the criminals trafficking illegal drugs greatly improves community safety by preventing this poison from making its way onto our streets,” said Travis Pickard, the acting special agent in charge of the operations oversees the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama. “Dismantling and dismantling drug trafficking organizations is one of HSI’s highest priorities and we are proud of the work we and our partners are doing.”
“I am pleased to see that these perpetrators will be serving time behind bars for their crimes,” said Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch. “As you can see from this and many other cases currently under investigation, teamwork is required to remove these dangerous narcotics from our streets. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to the fight against illegal drugs pouring into our communities.”
According to US Attorney Buchanan, the charges presented in court and other information: From May 2021 to August 2021, the defendants conspired to and did distribute kilogram quantities of methamphetamine. Kevin Tello and David Garcia supplied the drugs to Almarud Duarte, who then sold the methamphetamine. In addition, on June 28, 2021, Eduardo Penaloza-Pacheco sold a kilogram of methamphetamine delivered to him by Tello. Police officers then seized approximately 200 kilograms of methamphetamine during a search of Garcia’s home.
Duarte, Garcia and Tello pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Penaloza-Pacheco pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story sent the following sentence to the defendants:
- Almarud Duarte, 27, of Oakwood, Georgia, pleaded guilty on January 23, 2023 and was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by five years of custody.
- David Garcia, 42, of Duluth, Georgia, pleaded guilty on June 1, 2022 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
- Eduardo Penaloza-Pacheco, 38, of Gainesville, Georgia, pleaded guilty on May 16, 2022 and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
- Kevin Tello, 27, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty on May 1, 2022 and was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Gwinnett County Metro Task Force and the state Georgia investigates patrolling.
Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Keen prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an operation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-gathering, multi-agency approach. For more information about the OCDETF program, visit https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
For more information, please contact the US Attorney’s Office of Public Affairs at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The web address of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
