Operation ‘Nemesis’ Nets Several Pounds of Methamphetamine, Guns, Cash, and 3 Arrests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Operation ‘Nemesis’ Nets Several Pounds of Methamphetamine, Guns, Cash, and 3 Arrests

Sheriff Mitch Ralston Reports:

In July, 2013, Gordon County Sheriff’s detectives initiated an investigation into the activities of a group of people centered on Fairview Road near the Sugar Valley community. This investigation, which involved many man-hours of surveillance and undercover work, electronic surveillance, and several undercover transactions of drugs and cash, culminated Friday, September 20, with the execution of a search and arrest warrants a at the home of the principle defendant.  At approximately 10:30 am Friday (Sept 20), detectives and uniformed deputy sheriffs executed the warrants at 1140 Fairview Road. Detectives collected a large amount of physical evidence, including several pounds of raw methamphetamine, a number of firearms, 2 of which were assault rifles, several thousands of dollars in cash, and extensive records. The home was also equipped with a sophisticated electronic surveillance system which was also dismantled and seized as evidence. Detectives found some of the methamphetamine hidden among children’s clothing in a child’s bedroom. Three (3) persons, subsequently identified as:

1. Luis Fernando Perez, age 27, of 1140 Fairview Road, Calhoun

2. Laura Mariel Brito-Pina, age 26, of 1140 Fairview Road, Calhoun

3. Gildardo Hernandez-Gonzalez, age 27, of 10 Hunt Drive, Calhoun

were arrested at the scene without incident. Perez has been charged with: Trafficking in Methamphetamine, several counts of Sale/Distribution of Methamphetamine, Possession of Firearms During the Commission of  Drug-Related Crime, and Cruelty to Children. Brito-Pina has been charged with Trafficking in Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Firearms During the Commission of Drug-Related Crime, and Cruelty to Children. Hernandez-Gonzalez was charged with Trafficking in Methamphetamine and Possession of Methamphetamine. Two small children in the home at the time of the execution of the warrants were turned over to local DFCS authorities for placement. Detectives believe that Perez is an illegal alien. Perez was arrested by Sheriff’s detectives in 2009 for the sale/distribution of cocaine along with a number of co-defendants. He and the other defendants were indicted by a Gordon County Grand Jury, but the case was subsequently ‘dead docketed’  March 28, 2013, citing that a co-defendant, one Ruben Heberto Reyna, had allegedly been deported and that the case couldn’t be tried without all of the defendants. However, Gordon County jail records indicate that Reyna was arrested and jailed by the Calhoun Police on March 16, 2013 for DUI, and again on July 12, 2013 for a probation violation.

Sheriff Ralston said,  “This case is still another sad example of the federal government’s refusal to deal with the interrelated issues of illegal immigration and the importation of methamphetamine, which results in the suffering of local communities. My detectives did an excellent job with this case, in keeping with my policy of targeting the importers and traffickers of methamphetamine, rather than those merely suffering from addiction. Any ordinary citizen can see from what was seized as evidence how dangerous these defendants in fact are, and what a threat they and others who participate in this crime pose to our community. I have no doubt that the good people of this county have, and will do the right thing. Our grand juries have consistently indicted the people arrested by the Sheriff’s Office for these types of offenses, and our trial juries have consistently returned guilty verdicts in similar cases when these defendants are tried. These juries are made up of the ordinary people who depend on my staff and I to keep the county safe. However, in a large number of instances, these defendants’ cases are never heard by our juries.”