Probe of prison drug ring nets 39

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METH AND HEROIN

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  • A narcotics distribution ring directed from a state prison has been broken up...
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OKLAHOMA CITY – A narcotics distribution ring directed from a state prison by a convicted murderer has been broken up by federal, state and local law enforcement officials. It marked the sixth time in 10 months that individuals implicated in a major drug ring operated from Oklahoma’s prison system were indicted or sentenced in federal courts in Oklahoma.

At least 31 individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in the narcotics trafficking operation, and eight others are awaiting trial or hearings at which they can plead guilty, federal court records indicate.

Most recently Ramon Ivarra Dominquez, 46, alias “Monchis,” pleaded guilty January 4 to a single count of drug conspiracy. Initially he was named in 38 felony counts, including one count of aiding and abetting in the possession of heroin with intent to distribute, four counts of aiding and abetting in the possession of methamphetamine, and 14 counts of aiding and abetting in the distribution of meth.

Dominquez is incarcerated at Mack Alford Correctional Center at Stringtown, where he is serving a life sentence for a 1994 first-degree murder conviction in Oklahoma County, state Corrections Department records reflect.

Initially Dominquez was indicted in federal court in December 2019 on one count of drug conspiracy, 14 counts of aiding and abetting distribution of methamphetamine, and 18 counts of using a telephone to further his involvement in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

His wife and co-defendant, Stephanie Soliz, 46, of Oklahoma City, alias “Kitty” and “Fat Cat,” admitted her role in the drug conspiracy during an appearance in federal court January 6.

Soliz, who reported she dropped out of school after the eighth grade, served as Dominquez’s “de facto presence on the street,” Downing said. In addition to delivering drugs, Soliz “collected proceeds from drug debts and sales, storing the money for future drug trafficking and protecting drug-related assets of the Southside Locos,” U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing reported. This occurred for a little over a year, from October 2018 to about December 2019, Soliz acknowledged.

According to court documents and public records, Dominquez was a member of the Southside Locos prison gang. Leaders of the gang, including Dominquez, “orchestrated a large-scale drug-trafficking operation, primarily focused on distribution of methamphetamine and heroin, using contraband cell phones from prison,” Downing said.

Dominquez and Soliz are expected to be sentenced in approximately 90 days, Downing said. Dominquez faces a maximum penalty of life in a federal prison and a fine of up to $10 million. Soliz could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

All five prison drug operations were coordinated with the use of contraband mobile telephones, corrections and law enforcement officials said.

“We find a lot of cell phones” in the state prison system, said Justin Wolf, director of communications and government relations for the state Department of Corrections. “Some are barely bigger than a finger and can be easily concealed.”

Mobile phones prized by convicts are specialty devices that aren’t sold in stores, Wolf said. “They don’t need ‘smart phone’ technology. All they’re needed for is to dial out” from prison to an accomplice on the outside.

DOC officers have seized more than 58,750 cell phones in the last 10 years, including 5,183 during the first 11 months of last year, Wolf said. In accordance with state law, the confiscated phones are sold or destroyed, he said.

The investigation into the drug ring spanned nearly two years and involved the Oklahoma City FBI office, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Downing said.

The probe resulted in multiple federal indictments. For example, 81 counts were filed against 24 defendants in one indictment, and 16 individuals were named in 55 counts in another; some defendants were named in both indictments. Also, four women were indicted on four charges arising from the drug conspiracy, and one woman was indicted on a single charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Officers seized $95,452 in cash, some gift cards, three shotguns, two rifles and seven pistols during their investigation. Two of the pistols were found to be stolen and were returned to their owners, but the other weapons and the currency were forfeited to the government; the gift cards were found to have “very little or no value,” investigators said.