“The fight against illegal drugs that ruin our neighborhoods and threaten our public safety may seem like an endless battle, but law enforcement officers continue to investigate these crimes so that we may all enjoy the quality of life we deserve.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

FRESNO —On February 13, 2023, Ernesto Zibray, 34, of Delano, pleaded guilty to distribution of more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Zibray was charged as part of Operation Red Reaper, a multi-agency operation that resulted in three federal cases charging 23 individuals. The months-long investigation uncovered evidence that the Nuestra Familia prison gang and its associates were responsible for large-scale trafficking of methamphetamine and other controlled substances, as well as various firearms offenses and other violent crimes in Kings and Tulare Counties.

According to court documents, on May 6, 2019, Zibray, who was on probation for another offense, distributed two pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendant, Tiffany Feller, in Delano. Moments later, investigators conducted a traffic stop on the car in which Feller was traveling, searched the car, and found the methamphetamine. Zibray was arrested in June 2019.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Kings County Gang Task Force, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the FBI, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Zibray is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba on May 22, 2023. Zebray faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a fine up to $10 million.