VENTURA : 2 Get Prison Terms on Cocaine Charges

A Los Angeles man and a Colombian national were sentenced to prison Friday for bringing to Ventura two kilograms of cocaine that was later sold to undercover agents.

Cesar Fernandez, 59, received an 11-year sentence and Carlos Alfonso Amaya, 34, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Fernandez and Amaya were found guilty in March of conspiracy to sell or transport cocaine, possession of cocaine for sale, and sale of cocaine.

Fernandez received a stiffer sentence because he had an earlier conviction for having a kilogram of cocaine for sale in Los Angeles, Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Phillips said.

According to court documents, Fernandez provided the cocaine and Amaya transported it from Los Angeles to Ventura on Oct. 19. Amaya was accompanied by a Van Nuys man, Henry Munoz, who has since pleaded guilty to transporting cocaine and is serving a one-year jail sentence. Amaya and Munoz are Colombian nationals, authorities said.

The complaint said Amaya drove to the Harbortown Marina Resort Hotel in Ventura, where Mario R. Waters, then the hotel’s manager, picked up the drugs. Waters then delivered the cocaine to an undercover agent parked at a nearby golf course, the complaint said. The four people were then arrested.

Waters faced the same charges as Fernandez and Amaya. He pleaded guilty Dec. 21 and has been sentenced to six years in prison.