Passenger in drug trafficking case pleads guilty, sentenced to 7 years
Rafael Zazueta, 19, was sentenced to seven years in the Department of Corrections on Dec. 11 for his role in a drug trafficking operation in June.
Zazueta was the passenger in a vehicle that was traveling through Eagle County carrying 18 pounds of cocaine mixed with fentanyl, along with 500 rounds of 9mm ammunition and three weapon magazines.
Zazueta was charged with numerous felonies including unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, controlled substance conspiracy and controlled substance special offender. Zazueta pleaded guilty to lesser charges while the driver of the vehicle, Pedro Corral Leon, is still working his way through district court in Eagle County.
Zazueta and Leon were traveling in a black Hyundai Elantra on June 19, headed eastbound on Interstate 70 between Dotsero and Gypsum at about 1 p.m. when the vehicle caught the attention of Eagle County Sheriff Deputy Evan Jaramillo, a member of the Gore Range Narcotics Task Force, who was traveling behind them. When a vehicle in front of them activated its hazard lights and pulled onto the shoulder of the roadway, the vehicle Zazueta was traveling in did not get over into the left lane, Jaramillo noted, even though Colorado requires a lane change for disabled or stationary vehicles with emergency or hazard lights on.
The vehicle also swerved outside of its lane several times, and when Jaramillo initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle, the vehicle showed no indication of stopping for approximately 10 seconds, according to an arrest affidavit issued for Zazueta and Leon.
Support Local Journalism
Upon asking Leon for his license, registration and insurance, Leon was unable to produce proof of insurance. When asked to step out of the vehicle, Jaramillo noted that Zazueta started messaging on his phone.
Jaramillo noted the presence of tattoos on both Zazueta and the driver. The driver had a tattoo of Saint Judas with a money roll of $100 bills on his forearm, and Zazueta also had a tattoo of Saint Judas.
“The money roll caught my attention because Saint Judas is the patron saint of lost causes,” Jaramillo noted in the affidavit. “Saint Judas is derived from the Catholic religion and is one of the 12 apostles. In Narco culture, specifically in South America, catholic saints and folk saints are often idolized while involved in criminal activity. In short legitimate catholic or religious figures are often twisted or used in a manner that does not follow the religion but rather in a manner that fits an individual’s personal wants and needs.”
The driver told Jaramillo that he and Zazueta grew up together in Culiacan, in the Sinaloa province of Mexico, but left that area “because drug trafficking and people trafficking” makes the area a dangerous place. He also said they had stayed three days in Las Vegas.
Jaramillo said he checked the recent travel history of the vehicle using a system called Motorola Vigilant Solutions ALPR and found that it had traveled from Omaha to California, staying one night in Las Vegas.
“After reviewing the ALPR data, the stories that I received from Leon and Zazueta about the length of stay in Las Vegas was incorrect,” Jaramillo said. “I believed they were lying to me.”
Jaramillo said he believed that Leon and Zazueta were involved in criminal activity based on the following factors: “Both extremely nervous, Narco culture tattoos, multiple cell phones in the vehicle, trash and food in the vehicle indicating hard travel, driver and passenger gave conflicting timelines on their travel and stay, both denied going to California, both lied about the trip, Leon said he left Sinaloa because it was dangerous with drug and human trafficking but had a Narco culture tattoo on his arm.”
Nevertheless, Jaramillo said he issued Leon a warning and told him he was free to leave. He also asked Leon if it was OK to ask him some more questions, however, and said Leon agreed. Jaramillo asked several questions about where and when they were traveling and also asked him if it was OK to search the vehicle. Leon agreed to the search and signed a consent to search form. Zazueta also signed a consent to search form.
Upon searching the vehicle, Jaramillo said he found numerous iPhones; a total of $332 in U.S. currency; some foreign currency; a box of Heaters 9mm handgun ammunition with 500 rounds; three Berretta handgun magazines; an empty food saver box for vacuum packages; seven plastic wrapped and vacuum-sealed packages; multiple cash remitter receipts showing money being sent to Culiacan, Sinaloa; a Culican letterman jacket and two passports.
The contents of the vacuum-sealed packages were examined and tested presumptive positive for cocaine and fentanyl, with a total weight of 18.02 pounds.
Zazueta was released from the Eagle County jail and transferred to the Department of Corrections on Dec. 17.
