Seven Chula Vista residents pleaded not guilty Sept. 23 to a federal grand jury indictment that alleged they participated in a methamphetamine distribution organization.
The seven were among 24 people indicted and they remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail.
Jose Marino Garcia Jr., 26, was identified as the co-owner of a house in the 300 block of Inkopah Street in Chula Vista that was used to store, weigh and repackage methamphetamine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is seeking a criminal forfeiture against the house’s owners.
Julie Muriel Peterson, 36, was identified as Garcia’s girlfriend who allegedly helped him store the drugs at the house.
Other Chula Vista residents were identified as Krystal Justine Hernandez, 22; Lizbeth Flores Overstreet, 30; Rene Zuniga, 40; Robert Cota Jr., 47; and Susan Zimmerman, 56.
Others arrested in South Bay include Lenira Hernandez, 37, of Imperial Beach; and three from San Ysidro, Richard Madrigal, 28; Miguel Madrigal Jr., 31; and Eduardo Magana-Rincon, 29.
They all appeared before U.S. District Court Magistrate Bernard Skomal and all on the same charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The maximum sentence is life in federal prison.
