Believed Mexican Cartel Associates Charged in Drugs, Weapons Bust

(MORENO VALLEY, Calif.) -- A California man and a Mexican national were arraigned on Tuesday in a Riverside County court on charges stemming from a drugs and weapons bust by state authorities.

A release from California's Attorney General's office said that last Friday, acting on information received, officers from the Attorney General’s Inland Crackdown Allied Task Force went to a home in Moreno Valley, Calif., where a search warrant was executed and approximately 18 pounds of methamphetamine was seized along with four handguns, three assault rifles and a .50 caliber sniper rifle.

Jesus Espinoza, 25, of San Diego and Jose Manuel Guizar-Gaytan, 25, of Mexico, were arrested on charges of two felony counts each of possession of methamphetamine for sale and possession of methamphetamine with a loaded firearm. They were also charged with three felony counts; each for possession of an assault weapon, possession of an assault rifle and possession of any .50 BMG (sniper) rifle.

According to the release, investigators believe the suspects are connected to the La Familia cartel in Michoacan, Mexico.

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