NorCal man gets 10 years in prison for supplying heroin to Vallejo drug dealers
Case tied to Aryan Brotherhood investigation
SACARAMENTO » A Turlock man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, six weeks after he pleaded guilty to supplying Vallejo-based drug dealers with heroin, court records show.
Arturo Castro-Zavaleta, 41, was sentenced last week to two 10-year terms, to be served concurrently, by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller. The drug distribution charges carried a mandatory minimum of 10 years.
As part of his plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office, Castro-Zavaleta admitted to possessing 10 pounds of heroin and four ounces of methamphetamine, and $3,000 in drug proceeds. When the Drug Enforcement Administration served a search warrant at Castro-Zavaleta’s Turlock home in 2019, they found 300 small opium plants as well as 200 marijuana plants, according to the criminal complaint.
Castro-Zavaleta has been in federal custody in Sacramento since 2019, when he was arrested in connection with a lengthy Vallejo-based heroin trafficking investigation. In court records, prosecutors have said the same investigation resulted in three other criminal cases, including charges against a Vallejo middleman heroin dealer, as well as a massive racketeering case against the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, which includes drug trafficking and murder charges.
Earlier this year, one of the Vallejo-based heroin dealers the DEA investigated, Brian Butler, received six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to selling heroin to an undercover DEA agent.
In court records, Castro-Zavaleta’s attorney said his client’s only conviction was for drunk driving, nearly a decade ago.
“Imposition of a 120-month sentence is already substantial under any circumstances, and particularly for someone who has never served time before,” defense lawyer Clemente Jimenez wrote. “Mr. Zavaleta timely accepted responsibility for his conduct and has been a model inmate during the pendency of his case.”
As part of the agreement, Butler signed a document saying he was supplied by a man named Vincente Castro-Zavaleta, whose relation to Arturo Castro-Zavaleta is unknown. The charges against Vincente Castro-Zavaleta are still pending.