Feds Charge 26 Suspects For Drug-trafficking And Possession Of Dangerous Weapons To Commit Violent Crimes In The Milwaukee Area And Wisconsin

The 26 suspects engaged in drug-trafficking and distribution between Milwaukee and California.

By H. Nelson Goodson 

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

September 25, 2020

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Tuesday, as part of Operation Legend, U.S. Attorney Krueger in Wisconsin announced in a press release that an unsealed criminal complaint named, 26 defendants (suspects) who have been charged with offenses related to a violent drug-trafficking organization that obtained multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and marijuana from California for distribution in the Milwaukee area.  As alleged, after distributing the drugs in the Milwaukee area, certain defendants shipped drug proceeds through the U.S. Postal Service to co-conspirators in California.  Multiple defendants possessed and brandished firearms during the course of the drug trafficking conspiracy. 

Included among the defendants is Louis R. Perez III, also known as "Eight Ball," who is alleged to be a Mexican Posse gang member and the current leader of the nationwide drug trafficking organization.  Several other Mexican Posse gang members have also been charged and arrested, including Manuel Soto and Antonio Rodriguez, who both allegedly distributed controlled substances in the Milwaukee area.  Two California-based defendants, Julian Sanchez and Miguel Sarabia, are alleged to have supplied the drugs for distribution from California.  

On September 22, 2020, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers executed arrest and search warrants related to this operation.  Twenty-one of the defendants are now in custody.  Law enforcement officers also executed over two dozen search warrants in Wisconsin and California, resulting in the recovery of at least 33 firearms, including a stolen Milwaukee Police Department firearm and a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  As part of the operation, law enforcement also recovered over 700 grams of heroin from one location, as well as additional heroin, cocaine, and marijuana from other locations.  Law enforcement also recovered approximately $170,000 in U.S. currency.

The following defendants are charged in the complaint:

• Louis Rey PEREZ III, 23, Milwaukee, WI

• Xina YANG, 22, Milwaukee, WI

• Julian SANCHEZ, 24, Costa Mesa, CA

• Miguel SARABIA, 45, Norwalk, CA

• Gabriel MATTESON, 22, La Mirada, CA

• Louis Rey PEREZ, JR., 46, Milwaukee, WI

• Manuel SOTO, 28, Milwaukee, WI

• Hauseng YANG, 18, Milwaukee, WI

• Antonio RODRIGUEZ, 21, Milwaukee, WI

• Hector ARENAS, 27, Milwaukee, WI

• Luis F. GOMEZ, JR., 19, Milwaukee, WI

• Ivan J. GALAN, 27, Milwaukee, WI

• Jose A. ALVARADO, 23, Milwaukee, WI

• Esteban REYES, 46, Milwaukee, WI

• Kevin TAYLOR, 28, Milwaukee, WI

• Ma YANG, 32, Milwaukee, WI

• Mary YANG, 29, Milwaukee, WI

• Jasmine L. PEREZ, 28, Milwaukee, WI

• Michael BUB, 33, Milwaukee, WI

• Chong YANG, 28, Milwaukee, WI

• Michele M. HART, 55, Milwaukee, WI

• Mercedes HERBERT  GONZALEZ, 29, Milwaukee, WI

• Azia YANG, 18, Milwaukee, WI

• Carina RODRIGUEZ, 20, Milwaukee, WI

• Ger YANG, 20, Milwaukee, WI

• Shayla A. KNUEPPEL, 24, Milwaukee, WI

All defendants are charged in a conspiracy to distribute at least 5 kilograms of cocaine or 1000 kilograms of marijuana.  If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.  Certain defendants are also charged in a conspiracy to launder money.  The penalties for that offense include up to 20 years in prison.  Certain defendants are charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.  If convicted of those firearms charges, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and up to life in prison. 

The defendants were charged based on a long-term investigation led by law enforcement agents and officers from the North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Greenfield Police Department.  Law enforcement resources allocated by Operation Legend contributed to the investigation and today's enforcement operation.  Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Monfils and Assistant United States Attorney Gail Hoffman are prosecuting the case.

Federal criminal complaint (237 pages of indictments) link: https://bit.ly/3iauFqF