Riverside County man sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for trafficking meth from Mexico

A Riverside County man has been sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison for trafficking large quantities of narcotics from Mexico into the Inland Empire, according to prosecutors. 

They say that Timoteo Gomez, a 51-year-old Riverside resident, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in 2022. He has been in custody since his arrest in June of 2021. 

Prosecutors say that between April and August of 2020, Gomez and others purchased the narcotic from suppliers in Mexico, as well as in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties before other "members of the conspiracy further distributed" it throughout the Inland Empire. 

In April of 2020, Gomez and others are said to have smuggled nearly 50 pounds of meth from Mexico across the U.S. port of entry at Calexico into Riverside County, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice. The next month, another co-conspirator attempted to drive over 90 pounds of meth from Mexico and through the San Ysidro port of entry. 

The statement says that law enforcement seized more than 150 pounds of meth and more than $31,000 in cash during the investigation, in which they have secured 16 convictions thus far. 

Prosecutors say that the FBI's Inland Empire Safe Streets Task Force, which is a joint federal and state gang task force that includes members from the DEA, IRS and Riverside County police and sheriff's departments, investigated the case. They were also assisted by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.