crime

A pair of large-scale methamphetamine traffickers arrested in Jackson County last year could not escape steep federal prison sentences after attempting to rush plea deals through state court that carry shorter incarceration terms, officials said.

The suspects were arrested while driving on Interstate 5 in March of 2011. The two were arrested by the Oregon State Police in unrelated incidents, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

On March 16, an OSP trooper stopped Jamie Eugene Muniz, 28, from Sacramento, on the freeway near Ashland. A search of his car turned up 10 pounds of meth wrapped in eight packages and hidden in a secret compartment in the center console. The estimated street value of the meth was $600,700.

The meth was destined for sale in the Portland area, officials said.

Four days later, an OSP trooper stopped a car driven by Francisco Hernandez-Figueroa, 29, of San Rafael, Mexico, on the freeway near Medford.

A search of the car found that it had been wired with an electronic activation system leading to two hidden compartments located behind the side panels in the rear passenger compartment. A switch hidden in the steering column opened the secret compartments, revealing 16 packages wrapped in black duct tape.

A total of 15 pounds of high-quality meth, with a street value of $870,000, was packed in the compartments.

Troopers also found $4,500 in $100 bills, believed to be proceeds from drug trafficking. The meth was bound for Seattle, officials said.

Law enforcement found that Hernandez-Figueroa had illegally entered the country with the intent of selling the large haul of meth.

Within a few days of their arrest both men demanded to plead guilty to the drug charges in state court. Their defense attorney advised them to do so to avoid a possible longer federal sentence, officials said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office had not reviewed the cases by the time each entered guilty pleas in state court, officials said.

Both were sentenced to nearly five years in Oregon prison, officials said.

However, this did not stop federal prosecutors from pursuing drug-trafficking crimes against the men. U.S. District Judge Owen Panner then sentenced Hernandez-Figueroa to 10 years in federal prison, while Muniz received five years of federal time.

The sentences will be served concurrently with the state convictions, officials said.

"These were some of the largest seizures of nearly 100 percent pure methamphetamine in Southern Oregon," said Amanda Marshall, U.S. Attorney for Oregon, in a news release. "The Department of Justice authorized our prosecution because the state convictions and sentences did not adequately vindicate the interest the United States has in prosecuting major drug traffickers." Read more about Meth traffickers aren't able to dodge federal penalties

A Talent man arrested Saturday for allegedly attempting to drag a woman into his vehicle in east Medford Jan. 13 also attempted to lure at least two other women into his vehicle in the week before his capture, authorities say.

Fidel Flores-Avalos, 39, was taken into custody on one count of attempted second-degree kidnapping for allegedly trying to force a 22-year-old Medford women into his vehicle on the morning of Jan. 13 while she was walking through a Medford Center parking lot near Safeway, according to Medford police.

After repeatedly attempting to coax the woman into his Jeep, Flores-Avalos allegedly got out and grabbed the victim's body and purse and tried to force her into the vehicle's passenger seat before she escaped and fled, Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau said.

He also was suspected of trying to talk a 38-year-old woman into entering his car Thursday morning in the area of East Main and Almond streets, but his efforts were reportedly thwarted when he was interrupted by an unknown man, Budreau said.

A similar incident occurred Saturday along East Main and Genessee streets, and the 51-year-old woman escaped untouched but was able to provide investigators with a license plate number and description of the man and vehicle that matched the Jan. 13 incident, police said.

Medford police identified Flores-Avalos, of the 200 block of Talent Avenue, as the owner of that vehicle, police said. He then agreed to be interviewed at the Medford Police Department, where he told investigators he talked to the victims but insisted it was them asking him for rides, Budreau said.

"Obviously, he had a different version of the events," Budreau said.

Flores-Avalos was lodged in the Jackson County Jail on the single count of attempted second-degree kidnapping, which is a Class C felony in Oregon.

The charge stems from his allegedly grabbing the victim and trying to force her into the Jeep near Safeway, police said. In the other incidents, there was no force or touching involved, reports state.

"In some of the other cases, the behavior was concerning, but not criminal," Budreau said. "It didn't quite rise to the level of attempted kidnapping."

A fourth victim of a suspected attempted kidnapping came forward after news reports of the case surfaced Sunday, Budreau said. The 40-year-old woman, who lives on Royal Avenue, told police she believed Flores-Avalos was the man who has attempted to get her to ride in his Jeep several times since June, Budreau said.

Flores-Avalos has a history of misdemeanor arrests and traffic violations in Jackson County dating back to 1991 but no previous felony arrests here, court records show.

Flores-Avalos was being held Monday in jail on $5,000 bail, jail records show.

ICE HOLD - Fidel Flores-Avalos Read more about Talent man faces attempted kidnapping charge

A seven-month investigation into a methamphetamine drug ring led to 11 arrests and the seizure of more than $130,000 of drugs Wednesday morning in Polk County.

About 4 a.m. Oregon State Police SWAT and a Polk County Special Response team served search warrants at three residences in Independence.

Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe said the morning bust went “like clockwork.”

“The best thing that happened was nobody got hurt — no suspects, no officers,” Wolfe said.

According to Independence police, one of more than a dozen agencies to participate in Wednesday’s search, the investigation began with undercover drug buys from suspects in July 2012.

A development in the investigation occurred Dec. 8, 2012, when law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a drug transport vehicle in Douglas County enroute to Polk County based on information gained during the investigation.

Officials seized 6.5 pounds of methamphetamine, one pound of heroin and one pound of unidentified powder from the vehicle, which contained two suspects: Sergio Gustavo Pineda-Villanueva, 23, and Faliciano Ayala-Cardenas, 31.

Both men were arrested and taken to the Douglas County jail, where they have Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds.

Pineda-Villanueva was charged with racketeering, distribution of a controlled substance — methamphetamine and distribution of a controlled substance — heroin. His bail was set at $200,000. Ayala-Cardenas was arrested on the same charges and his bail was set at $100,000.

Officials learned that suspects may have been armed and some had histories of violent behavior, but no one was injured when SWAT and the special response team searched the residences, which were at side-by-side houses at 1145 and 1135 Monmouth Street, and an apartment complex at 1050 E Street.

“The city of Independence has received complaints from the general neighborhood — there is a lot of activity there,” Wolfe said of the residences. “They have spent a lot of time fixing this house up and making it look nice, but the fact that there are lots of vehicles coming and going, those sorts of things are always triggers for us.”

Officers also seized two firearms, computers, 12.9 grams of methamphetamine and three vehicles, including a GMC Yukon, a Jeep Cherokee and a Jaguar. The estimated street value of all the drugs seized during the operation is $120,000 in methamphetamine and $19,000 in heroin.

Four children were taken into protective custody and will be placed in foster care, said Independence police.
  Read more about Drug bust leads to 11 arrests in Polk County

Angel M. Torres-Reyna, 41, was sentenced to 17 months in prison for setting fire to his apartment and, later, a hotel room.

A 41-year-old Vancouver man was sentenced Monday in Clark County Superior Court to 17 months’ prison for setting fire first to his apartment and, three days later, to his room at the Hazel Dell Quality Inn.

Through a Spanish-language interpreter, Angel Torres-Reyna pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of second-degree arson and one count of third-degree assault in exchange for reduced charges. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree arson and one count of third-degree assault. A first-degree arson conviction would have involved a longer prison sentence.

The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office made the plea agreement because prosecutors were uncertain they would prevail had the two arson cases been tried separately, said Deputy Prosecutor Anna Klein. A plea agreement also saves the expense of a trial, or possibly two, in this case.

“It was a tactical move, and the sentence was not much less than he would have gotten in trial,” Klein said.

Seventeen months in prison is the maximum sentence for second-degree arson; a first-degree arson conviction would have added about nine to 17 months, Klein said.

Torres-Reyna also will be ordered to pay $322,312 in restitution, though many convicts are unable to pay.

When Judge Scott Collier asked Torres-Reyna if he would like to say anything before sentencing, he declined through his interpreter.

“What I’d like to hear from you is the potential harm, not just property damage, you caused,” Collier said. “When you set fire to the hotel, there were people in the hotel, firefighters. It puts them at serious risk.”

“I’m going to accept the plea agreement but a little bit begrudgingly,” the judge said.

Torres-Reyna set fire Sept. 27 to his apartment at Willowbrook Apartments on Northeast 51st Street in the Truman neighborhood. Two days later, he set fire to the hotel room, provided to him by the American Red Cross, at 7001 N.E. Highway 99. He climbed onto the hotel roof and refused to come down when firefighters tried to rescue him.

He kicked a rescue ladder and caused a firefighter to tumble to the ground, prompting the third-degree assault charge. The ladder struck a vehicle and broke out its window. From his perch, Torres-Reyna kept police at bay for four hours.

Several other hotel guests, also displaced by the Willowbrook Apartments fire, were evacuated during the hotel fire and subsequent standoff.

Initially, police expressed concerns that Torres-Reyna might be mentally ill. He received a mental health evaluation and was found competent Nov. 30 to stand trial.

He is under an immigration hold placed by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. It’s unclear whether he’ll serve out his sentence before being deported. Read more about Man gets 17 months for apartment, Quality Inn fires