Stanislaus County jury convicts major local methamphetamine dealer
A “major local distributor of crystal methamphetamine” is facing more than 16 years in prison after being arrested three times with large amounts of the drug during a four-month period in 2020, according to a press release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
Daniel Barajas Martinez, 37, was out on bail from two previous meth sale arrests when probation officers caught him in September 2020 with nearly a pound of the drug, a digital scale and $1,000 in cash.
When the officers told him they were going to search him, Martinez replied, “You’re about to get a promotion,” according to the press release.
Ceres police found nine grams of meth when they arrested him in June 2020, and Modesto police found 120 grams of meth when they arrested him in August 2020.
All three incidents were consolidated into one criminal case that went to trial in February, according to the release.
Law enforcement officers from multiple local agencies testified during the trial, which lasted a week and a half. Modesto Police Department Major Crimes Investigator Jacob Mertz provided expert testimony identifying Martinez as a major local distributor of crystal methamphetamine in Stanislaus County, according to the release.
After more than a week of testimony, the jury convicted Martinez on all counts of methamphetamine sales.
During a separate court trial, Judge Dawna Reeves found that Martinez had been previously convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 2005, a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes law. Reeves also found true enhancements that Martinez committed the drug offenses while out on bail in another case.
Martinez faces a maximum potential prison term of 16 years and eight months. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 1.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 3:56 PM.
