Julio Cesar Nevarez-Erunez, a 24-year-old resident of Salem, Oregon and formerly of Downey, California, has been sentenced to five years and ten months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The sentence was handed down on December 4, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Court documents show that Nevarez-Erunez worked with co-defendant Juan Niebla-Osuna, 28, also from Downey, to distribute methamphetamine within the Eastern District of California and other locations. On July 13, 2022, both men sold 15 pounds of methamphetamine to a confidential source. Later that year on October 6, Nevarez-Erunez was arrested while in possession of 40 pounds of methamphetamine and 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. A search at the Los Angeles-area residence shared by the two defendants led authorities to an additional seven pounds of methamphetamine and two-and-a-half pounds of fentanyl powder.
Niebla-Osuna previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine but failed to appear for sentencing on August 28, 2025. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Haddy Abouzeid is prosecuting the case.
According to the press release: “This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.”
The Sacramento branch of HSTF includes agents from several federal agencies as well as local law enforcement partners such as Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office; prosecution is led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
