Man sentenced in record drug bust case
On Monday, the ringleader of the largest drug ring bust in Humboldt County Drug Task Force history was sentenced to up to six years in the county jail and 12 years under mandatory supervision.
Jose Lomeli-Osuna — who pleaded guilty to five counts of drug trafficking charges — was given a split sentence because he is 69-years-old and the county jail has limited ability to house him for a long period of time in part because of his age and medical conditions. Judge Christopher Wilson lamented that state law prevented him from sending Lomeli-Osuna to prison.
“I’m sentencing him to the most maximum term that I can,” Wilson said, adding that given Lomeli-Osuna’s immigration status, he will likely be deported after being released from custody.
Deputy District Attorney Ian Harris told the court that the prosecution was in disagreement with the custody cap, noting that Lomeli-Osuna had a prior felony conviction and was trafficking “enough fentanyl to kill almost everybody in Humboldt County.”
In the bust that resulted in Lomeli-Osuna’s arrest on Sept. 15, 2022, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force seized 30 pounds of meth, 5.5 pounds of cocaine, three pounds of heroin, two pounds of fentanyl, 150 marijuana plants, 50 pounds of processed marijuana, $115,500 and two revolvers. The drugs, money and weapons were found in six locations including multiple apartments — one in Eureka, one in Arcata and two in Fortuna — a storage unit in McKinleyville and an auto body shop in Eureka.
The 30 pounds of meth exceed the total amount of meth seized in task force operations in all of 2021.
Conflict Counsel Meagan O’Connell, Lomeli-Osuna’s defense, spoke for him through a Spanish-language interpreter during the sentencing.
“He wants to convey to the court how regretful he is. It truly became an issue when his wife got sick and they had to pay for her cancer treatments, “ O’Connell said.
Lomeli-Osuna’s wife passed away while he was in custody.
In his ruling, Wilson said this was not Lomeli-Osuna’s first instance before a court on charges regarding substance trafficking, citing two deportations he endured after being charged with amphetamine manufacturing in 1999 and transportation for sale of controlled substances in 2003, which resulted in a three-year prison stay.
Lomeli-Osuna is diabetic, has gallstones, high blood pressure and is not eligible for Medicare due to his immigration status, adding to the reasons why he was given a split sentence, since the Humboldt County jail lacks the medical facilities to treat him in the long-term.
“The six year term … is a reasonable amount of time for him to be out of the community,” Wilson said.
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