12 named in 84-count federal indictment in Youngstown cocaine ring

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

An 84-count federal grand-jury indictment charging 12 people with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Youngstown area was unsealed in federal court today.

The indictment, related to the arrests of three people last month at an Austintown residence by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, alleges the defendants conspired to transport cocaine from Texas to Ohio.

DEA agents arrested three of the defendants, Bruce Cuevas Sr., 61, of Youngstown; Jose G. Martinez, 42, and Lilia Comacho-Jiminez, 32, both of Austintown, last month at a Notre Dame Drive home in Austintown, after an investigation that began in March 2015.

Youngstown-based U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson authorized a phone tap in March 2015 for calls between Martinez and an Irvine, Calif., man in connection with the case, according to a federal affidavit.

After surveillance, agents determined that cocaine was transported in April from Texas to Martinez’s Notre Dame Drive home.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.