On April 30, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gabriel Alexis Perez-Espinoza, a 29-year-old Mexican national and convicted felon, was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Perez-Espinoza was attempting to traffic a substantial quantity of methamphetamine and heroin into the Utah District.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart issued the sentence following Perez-Espinoza's guilty plea on January 16, 2025, on charges of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
Court documents and statements from the plea and sentencing hearings reveal that Utah County Sheriff deputies stopped Perez-Espinoza while driving a Ford F-150 near Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah, on August 3, 2021. DEA agents found approximately 4,446 grams of methamphetamine and 1,227.7 grams of heroin concealed in a secret compartment beneath the vehicle. Prior to his arrest, DEA agents had been in undercover communication with Perez-Espinoza regarding the narcotics purchase.
Court documents also disclose that Perez-Espinoza was previously convicted in 2020 for reentering the U.S. after being removed and had been deported six times between 2015 and 2020.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office works hand in hand with our law enforcement partners to reduce the scourge of dangerous narcotics and violence in our communities," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti. “Thanks to this collaborative effort, we were able to successfully seize lethal drugs from potentially being distributed in our communities and prosecute the responsible offender who was in the United States illegally.”
DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen commented, “This is another example of DEA Special Agents working closely with our local and federal partners to ensure we get dangerous drugs being trafficked in Utah out of our neighborhoods.”
The case was investigated by the DEA, with assistance from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Seth Nielsen.
This operation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative. The OCDETF aims to disrupt and dismantle high-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States. Information about the program is available at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.