FRESNO  -  David Delgado Gonzalez, 38, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to 13 years and nine months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. In addition, Gonzalez was ordered to forfeit three firearms and associated ammunition that were in his possession when he was arrested.

According to court documents, between September 2020 and March 2021, Gonzalez (also known as “Spider”) conspired with, among others, co-defendant Omar Alberto Navarro to acquire methamphetamine in Mexico, transport it to the Eastern District of California, unload the narcotics from “load cars,” store the narcotics, and sell and distribute the narcotics to others.

For instance, on Oct. 29, 2020, at the behest of Navarro, Gonzalez transported approximately 6 pounds of methamphetamine to a meeting in Bakersfield and sold the methamphetamine to Scott Gordon James, who is charged in a related case, for $6,200. On March 26, 2021, Gonzalez possessed in a storage unit in Bakersfield approximately four pounds of methamphetamine, which he possessed with the intent to distribute to others.

In 2009, Gonzalez was convicted and sentenced in U.S. District Court – Southern District of Ohio, for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 1 kilogram of heroin.

On April 8, 2021, Gonzalez and eight other defendants were charged in three related indictments for trafficking and purchasing to sell methamphetamine from a conspiracy orchestrated by Navarro, 38, of Arvin. The other charged defendants are: Daniel Armendariz Mercado, 42; Miguel Angel Martinez, 27; Amayrani Jared Arreguin, 25; and Yvette Gallegos, 23, all of Bakersfield; Lizette Mendez, 32, of Delano; and James Scott Gordon, 47, of Chico. The charges against them are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Co-defendant Randal Jason Newell was sentenced on March 29, 2022, to three years and three months in prison for attempting to smuggle approximately 111 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico to Bakersfield.