The five remaining defendants in a federal drug distribution case with significant alleged connections to Emporia will have a status conference next month.
The federal Public Access to Court Electronic Records website says Omar Villa-Carranza, Troy Wagaman, Moises Cervantes-Sanchez, Jesus Cruz-Rodriguez and Tiburcio Ayala-Rangel will appear before Judge Holly teeter on Sept. 16. the defendants were supposed to have a hearing Tuesday but Villa-Carranza’s defense team requested more time to review discovery information and prosecutors did not oppose the motion.
Wagaman and Cruz-Rodriguez, both from Emporia, are currently on release. Cervantes-Sanchez, of Texas, and Villa-Carranza and Ayala-Rangel, both of Mexico, are all in custody. Previous co-defendant Elizabeth Benitez has been dismissed from the case.
The remaining defendants are still charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, as well as possession with intent to distribute, as part of an alleged drug distribution ring that involved trips from Mexico to Emporia and back between January and May. The alleged operation worked out of a home in the 800 block of West Fifth and a shipping container in the 1200 block of Road D southwest of Emporia. Authorities say they seized close to 100 gallons of liquid meth, 75 guns, $20,000 and a conversion lab at the Road D location, as well as over 130 pounds of crystal meth and another conversion lab at West Fifth.
