Two months after a Juneau man pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, his co-conspirator pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Juneau man Carlos Zavala-Flores, 39, pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to one count of drug conspiracy for intending to deal cocaine and marijuana, according to online court documents. His co-conspirator, California man Jorge Armando Lopez-Villareal, also pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy Wednesday according to online court documents.
Lopez-Villareal, 27, and Zavala-Flores conspired between Jan. 9, 2015 and April 26, 2017, to distribute cocaine and marijuana, according to the plea agreement. Both men face sentences between five and 40 years in prison, according to their plea agreements.
According to the men’s plea agreements, Zavala-Flores told others prior to April 19, 2017 that Lopez-Villareal was placing an order for drugs in the Lower 48. On April 19, 2017, according to their plea deals, the two men flew down to the Lower 48.
Zavala-Flores and Lopez-Villareal were pulled over April 26, 2017 near Medford, Oregon, for several traffic violations, according to the plea agreement. At the time, according to the plea agreement, the car contained 22 pounds of marijuana, 6.8 pounds of cocaine and $6,750 in cash. The plan was purportedly to take the car (a 1999 gray Chevrolet Tahoe with California plates) onto a barge in Washington and bring it up to Alaska to sell the drugs.
Zavala-Flores’ sentencing is set for June 1, 2018, according to online court records.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
