A Long Beach man was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison and four years of supervised release after he admitted to mailing shipments of cocaine to a motorcycle gang in Connecticut.
Jonathan “Gordo” Garcia, 37, was arrested in October 2023 and pleaded guilty Aug. 11 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Connecticut sentenced Garcia to 78 months in federal prison and four years of supervised release.
Since 2022, federal agents have been investigating “a large-scale drug trafficking organization” responsible for distributing kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut.
Through wiretaps, electronic surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics, investigators found out the drugs were coming from sources in California through Mexico.
Investigators also zeroed in on Garcia as a “narcotics source of supply” for the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club in Hartford, Connecticut, according to court records.
On one occasion, authorities say they obtained a video sent through WhatsApp by one of the buyers to Garcia, apparently showing the type of cocaine he wanted.
“This is what I need,” the buyer wrote in a text message, according to court records.
“The ones I have are like this,” Garcia wrote back, according to court records.
Later, during the same exchange, Garcia allegedly wrote, “you will fall in love, believe me son, I don’t have trash.”
Investigators learned that Garcia and Luis Soto-Leon “were coordinating the shipment of kilogram quantities of narcotics from Mexico to Connecticut,” prosecutors wrote.
Garcia would also travel to Connecticut “to facilitate the transactions and to collect drug proceeds,” they wrote.
Court records contained surveillance footage of Garcia meeting with leaders of the motorcycle club on one of these trips.
In February 2023, agents seized two packages that were mailed from a Connecticut post office to addresses in Southern California.
One package contained $6,500 in cash and two new Apple iPhones. The other package had more than $38,000 in cash.
Investigators also determined the Loose Cannonz were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine to distribute throughout Hartford, Connecticut.
Garcia is currently out on bond, but must report to prison on April 22.
Prosecutors say Garcia also had a past cocaine trafficking conviction from 2017. He was sentenced to 25 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for that offense.