FRESNO -  Otoniel Cardenas-Torres, 33, of Delhi, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Cardenas received $13,500 from a confidential source for the delivery of 3 pounds of heroin to the confidential source by Cardenas’s brother. The heroin deal had been arranged by a Mexican source of drug supply, who orchestrated a string of heroin transactions through couriers, including co-defendants Robert Palacios-Garcia, 38, of Huntington Park; Daniel Quiroz, 41, of Los Angeles; and Juan Medina, 29, of Manteca.

Cardenas is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Dec. 11, 2023. Cardenas faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years, and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Co-defendants Palacios-Garcia and Quiroz previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to seven years and three months in prison and three years and one month in prison, respectively. Juan Medina is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 2, 2023.