HONOLULU — A California man pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal case Kauai police say resulted in the largest amount of crystal meth seized during a single bust on the island. Steve Pete Orozco II pleaded guilty as charged in
HONOLULU — A California man pleaded guilty Thursday in a federal case Kauai police say resulted in the largest amount of crystal meth seized during a single bust on the island.
Steve Pete Orozco II pleaded guilty as charged in federal court in Honolulu to conspiracy, meth dealing and possessing a handgun and ammunition he wasn’t allowed to have because of a 2013 felony drug conviction.
The case against his co-defendant and cousin, Andrew J. Martinez, is pending. He has pleaded not guilty.
According to a criminal complaint filed in court, Martinez told authorities Orozco, his first-cousin, moved into his Kauai home a few weeks before their March arrest, bringing with him a shoe box filled with gallon-sized plastic bags of crystal meth.
“I stayed with some other family members before I went to his house,” Orozco said in court. The two cousins dealt meth together, he said.
When they were arrested, Kauai police said officers found 7 pounds of meth in their home. “This is the largest amount of crystal methamphetamine that the department has seized in a single incident with the take down of this drug trafficking organization,” Police Chief Darryl Perry said in a statement at the time.
The meth has a street value of $1.6 million, police said.
An informant led police to Orozco, who is from Stockton, California, the FBI said in the complaint. The informant arranged to buy meth from Orozco. Officers arrested Orozco and Martinez at the Lihue Walmart parking lot after the drug deal, according to the complaint.
During a search of their home, officers found several thousand dollars in cash and a semi-automatic handgun in a duffel bag. The serial number on the frame of the Glock 19 was completely scratched out and partially scratched out on the weapon’s slide, authorities said. Police found the drugs in nine gallon-sized plastic bags.
Orozco faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for the each of the drug-related charges. He faces up to 10 years for the firearms offense. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marion Percell noted that lab results aren’t back yet on the meth’s purity. The purity will have an effect on his sentencing guideline.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 12.
