Dover man among eight charged in three-county drug investigation
A 37-year-old Dover man is among eight men charged with operating a drug trafficking organization that distributed kilogram quantities of cocaine throughout Wayne, Stark and Tuscarawas counties and elsewhere in northern Ohio, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler.
Named in the indictment are Vicente Guzman-Bernal, 37, of Dover, Arnuflo Gomez-Araiza, 40, of Orrville, Alejandro Jesus Quezada, 33, of Louisville, Adrian Nava Marquez, 32, of Canton, Luis Soto-Perez, 27, of Massillon, Isidro Gutierrez-Meraz, 32, of Orrville, Isidro Gutierrez-Cuevas, 56, of Orrville, and Joshua Nagle, 40, of Canton.
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Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Guzman-Bernal is charged with an additional count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Quezada is charged with an additional count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Court documents say that in March 2020, federal, state and local law enforcement authorities began an investigation into a suspected drug trafficking organization led by Gomez-Araiza based in the Wayne and Stark County area.
According to the indictment, members of the Gomez-Araiza drug trafficking organization are alleged to have distributed, sold and transported kilogram quantities of cocaine in northern Oho and elsewhere in the state. It is alleged that members of the drug trafficking organization received shipments of cocaine, facilitated numerous drug transactions and shipped the drug trafficking proceeds to others throughout Ohio via couriers.
A federal court document says Guzman-Bernal is a native of Guatemala who is in this country illegally.
He was arrested after FBI special agents and task force officers found cocaine June 29 in his home at 341 Main St., in Dover. The location is less than a third of a mile from South Elementary School.
The affidavit said law enforcement found a large bag of cocaine, weighing approximately 70 grams, and a small bag, containing 24 individually wrapped bags of cocaine weighing less than one gram each.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum; in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.
This case was investigated by the FBI Canton, Wayne County MEDWAY Drug Task Force, Canton Police Department, Jackson Township Police Department, Massillon Police Department, Stark County Sheriff’s Office, Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, Dover Police Department and the FBI TOC-W Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Toni Beth Schnellinger Feisthamel.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Vicente Guzman-Bernal, 37, of Dover, facing federal drug charges
