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Ceres man pleads guilty to drug charges
3D Judges Gavel

FRESNO — Julian Loeza, 33, of Ceres, pleaded guilty Monday to distribution of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

Loeza is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba on July 17. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to court documents, a team of local and federal law enforcement officers partnered in an investigation into the 2020 drug trafficking activities of Julian Loeza and Esmerelda Ceja-Mendez, 43, both of Ceres; Sofia Cisneros-Noyola, 37, of Sacramento; and Victor Ramirez, 37, of Atwater. On March 3, 2021, Loeza sold two pounds of methamphetamine for $3,600.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force. 

Ramirez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on May 15.

Charges are pending against Ceja-Mendez and Cisneros-Noyola.