A man tied to a multi-year drug investigation in the South Lake Tahoe area is now headed to prison.
Federal prosecutors say 37-year-old Fabian Gomez was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The sentence was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb, according to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Court documents show that between August 2020 and May 2022, Gomez and others worked together to sell methamphetamine in and around South Lake Tahoe. Over that same period, investigators say Gomez also sold heroin and methamphetamine on his own.
Authorities say most of the drug activity happened in the South Lake Tahoe area, but the investigation found some of the supply was coming from Sacramento.
Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Dec. 8, 2025.
Another defendant in the case, Epifanio Ramirez, was sentenced Jan. 12, 2026, to 24.5 years in prison for three counts of distribution of methamphetamine. Prosecutors say Ramirez pleaded guilty in September 2025.
The charges stem from Operation Bear Trap, an effort launched in 2020 by multiple agencies to address methamphetamine distribution in South Lake Tahoe. Gomez was charged in 2022 along with six other people in connection with methamphetamine and heroin distribution.
During the operation, investigators seized methamphetamine, heroin, and multiple firearms, including ghost pistols and assault rifles, which are firearms made without serial numbers.
The investigation involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conolly is prosecuting the case.
Federal officials say the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative focused on addressing illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and reducing violent crime.
