California Men Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Drug Conspiracy

CAPE GIRARDEAU - U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced two California siblings to decades in prison for supplying dozens of kilograms of methamphetamine and other drugs to a criminal enterprise in southeast Missouri.

Judge Limbaugh sentenced Lorenzo A. Marquez, 32, to 360 months in prison and Adam A. Marquez, 28, to 204 months in prison. Jurors at the trial of both men in March found that they had supplied at least 500g or more of meth, 400g or more of fentanyl and 500g or more of cocaine to co-conspirators in Missouri. Jurors convicted each man of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Evidence and testimony during the trial showed that the Marquez brothers were the California-based suppliers of illegal drugs that were shipped, driven or smuggled via checked baggage on commercial airlines to Missouri. In Nashville, officers seized 2,973 fentanyl pills and 391 MDMA pills. Three drug couriers were intercepted in Detroit on their way to Southeast Missouri with about 60 pounds of meth and almost three pounds of cocaine. In Perry County, Missouri, investigators found about 20 pounds of meth, 4.5 pounds of cocaine, and 315 grams of fentanyl in a suitcase. The couriers didn't just take three flights, they took hundreds, a sentencing memorandum filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton says. The memo says the Marquez brothers are likely the most prolific drug suppliers ever prosecuted in the history of the Southeastern Division of the Eastern District of Missouri.

The Marquez brothers were indicted along with six others on July 11, 2023. All others pleaded guilty. Javontrey L. Wiley, 25, who admitted providing security for the conspiracy leaders, drugs and cash; managed lower-level participants and personally engaged in drug trafficking, was sentenced to 144 months. Oluwasegun Odumuyiwa, 52, who was also a California-based supplier, was sentenced to 76 months in prison.

The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Mississippi County Sheriff's Office, the Perry County Sheriff's Office, the Charleston Department of Public Safety, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and the Cape Girardeau Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Shelton and Paul Hahn are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.