Judge Declares Mistrial in Methamphetamine Case

A federal judge declared a mistrial Wednesday because a jury could not reach a verdict in the trial of three men accused of selling enough methamphetamines in the San Fernando Valley to keep a person high for 256 years, authorities said.

Jose Sigala-Lomeli of Sylmar, Sergio Valencia Valenzuela of Pacoima, and Humberto Bombela Estrada of Van Nuys will be retried beginning Sept. 6 on charges of conspiracy and possession of methamphetamines with the intention to distribute, Assistant U.S. Atty. Randall Lee said.

Two other men, Juan Carlos Ceron of Van Nuys and Noel Quintero of Panorama City, have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an alleged multimillion-dollar drug-dealing ring, which authorities say operated in the eastern Valley.

Lee would not say why the jury deadlocked over the charges.

The defendants were among six men arrested the evening of March 28 in the parking lot of a Burbank restaurant, capping a six-month undercover operation by agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Two undercover agents had arranged to buy methamphetamines from the men for $4,500 a pound, authorities said. The alleged dealers brought more than 12 pounds, worth between $1.4 million and $2.8 million and enough to keep the average person high for 256 years, Lee said.

All were arrested, but one man, Jose Jesus Gonzalez, 29, of San Fernando, was released on his own recognizance and disappeared, authorities said. He remains at large.