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Rafael Lopez-Macias, a citizen of Mexico last known to reside in Norwalk, has pleaded guilty in Bridgeport district court to narcotics trafficking and immigration offenses, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced.
In June 1998, Lopez-Macias was convicted in California on charges that included cocaine trafficking, Durham said. In February 2001, he was deported to Mexico. Lopez-Macias proceeded to illegally reenter the country in March 2009, and he was arrested in Connecticut for a forgery offense. In November 2009, he was again deported to Mexico.
Lopez-Macias again reentered the country and between March and June last year, he was caught on a wiretap discussing the distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine. On June 11 last year in New Rochelle, Lopez-Macias and a second suspect sold a kilogram of cocaine and a sample of meth for $31,500 to a man working with police investigators.
Durham said that on June 26 last year, Lopez-Macias traveled from Norwalk to New Rochelle, picked up a kilogram of meth from his co-conspirator, and began driving back to Norwalk with the drugs. While en route to Norwalk, he was stopped by law enforcement and arrested for an immigration violation. Officers searched the vehicle and seized the kilogram of methamphetamine.
Lopez-Macias, 46, pleaded guilty with one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He will face a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and a maximum term of life in prison on that charge. He also pleaded guilty to one count of reentry of removed alien, which could land him 20 years in prison. No sentencing date has been scheduled.
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