11 indicted after long drug probe

Jace Radke

Tuesday, July 6, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

Federal indictments unsealed Friday charge 11 men with various drug crimes in connection with a six-month joint investigation conducted by the FBI and local police agencies.

Seven of the men, all from Las Vegas, were arrested when authorities served arrest and search warrants Thursday at two Las Vegas residences and Salon Mexico, a bar located at 2440 Las Vegas Blvd. North at the corner of Carey Avenue.

Four other men, three from Las Vegas, and one from Colorado, are also charged in the indictment and had been previously arrested, said Natalie Collins, a spokeswoman with the U.S. attorney's office.

The case involved a North Las Vegas Police officer who shot and killed a man in April while trying to serve a narcotics search warrant. Cipriano Gerardo Lopez, 44, reportedly fired a shot at officers on April 27 as they served the warrant. One of the officers, Detective Clint Ryan, fired back, killing Lopez.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Ice House, focused on the bar that prosecutors say was used as a storehouse and distribution point for methamphetamine and cocaine. The manager and liquor license holder for the bar, Jose Salazar Perez, 42, is among those named in the indictment.

The defendants are charged with various drug-related crimes including drug trafficking, possession of methamphetamine and crack cocaine and maintaining a drug-involved premises.

If convicted, the defendants could face a 10-year mandatory minimum to life imprisonment.

Besides Salazar Perez, other defendants named in the indictment include: Marcelo Salas, 48; Heriberto Buendia, 44; Jesus Aguirre, 34; Jose Antemio Lizarraga, 46; Edgar Santacruz, 30; Jesus Lopez-Gomez, 27; Ramon Acosta Galaviz, 31; Martin Acosta Antelo, 33; and Jose Javier Arzola Garcia, 32, all of Las Vegas.

Also named is Gilberto Solis Lugo, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

During the raids, beginning about noon Thursday and ending about 10 p.m., 13 others were arrested on immigration charges, FBI spokesman Special Agent Todd Palmer said.

Local police worked with agents from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies on the case.