NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
JANUARY 24, 2008

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - EDWIN JUBENCIO SALINAS, age 26, pled guilty in federal court today to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute five (5) or more kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride; and one count of unlawful use of a communication facility in furtherance of that conspiracy, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

On the conspiracy charge, SALINAS faces a maximum term of life imprisonment with a minimum term of ten (10) years of imprisonment, a fine of $4,000,000, and a minimum of five (5) years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment.

According to court documents, an investigation led to a court-authorized wire intercepts of communications occurring over the cellular telephones known to be used by SALINAS's brother-in-law and co-defendant, Gabriel Juron Bolden, and one of the other six co-defendants in the case. Over the course of these wiretaps, investigators overheard the defendants orchestrating and discussing numerous narcotics deals during the months of December 2006, January 2007, and February 2007. Investigators also learned that various individuals involved in the conspiracy had attempted to conduct counter-surveillance of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's narcotics office located within John Slidell Park on Robert Road in Slidell. It was also learned that the main source of cocaine supply was in Houston, Texas.

Based upon the joint investigation between the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a federal complaint was filed against Bolden and three other individuals on February 15, 2007 and arrest warrants were issued by the U. S. Magistrate Judge. A federal complaint later was filed against SALINAS and another individual once it was learned that they traveled to Houston with Bolden in order to purchase a supply of cocaine and marijuana.

Also according to court documents, investigators learned through intercepted conversations that the group made a trip to Houston on February 18, 2007. Several individuals were taken into custody at approximately 3:00 A.M. on February 19, 2007, when they returned to Slidell. During a search subsequent to those arrests, investigators recovered approximately three (3) kilograms of what was suspected to be cocaine hydrochloride and 100 pounds of what was suspected to be marijuana. Tests conducted by members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office later confirmed that those substances were positive for the presence of cocaine and marijuana.

SALINAS admitted today to possession with the intent to distribute between fifteen (15) and fifty (50) kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, as well as admitting to distributing over 1,000 pounds of marijuana during the course of the drug conspiracy which began at some point before July 25, 2006, and continued until the time of his arrest on February 19, 2007.

SALINAS and his five co-defendants were indicted on March 16, 2007. However, in a directly related case, another ten (10) individuals were indicted on July 27, 2007 and charged with participating in the same drug conspiracy.

Four of SALINAS's co-defendants, Gabriel Bolden, Bruce Carter, Jr., Dorian Tyrone Hart, and Charles Eugene Prewitt, previously entered guilty pleas in connection with the above-described conspiracy. One, Shane Patrick Bossier, is set for trial before the Honorable Sarah S. Vance on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, and the ten defendants in the related case are set for trial before the Honorable A.J. McNamara on Monday, March 17, 2008.

As mentioned above, the case was investigated by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office and the FBI. Members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office carried out most of the fieldwork for the FBI, and conducted much of the physical surveillance during the time that the two cellular phones were tapped. Both cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Christopher Cox of the Violent Crime Unit.

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