Final Defendant Sentenced in Haymarket Ranch Firearm and Drug Ring

Juan Francisco Enriquez Cerritos Sr., a 54-year-old Salvadoran national, was sentenced on Wednesday to two years and six months in federal prison. His sentence marks the final adjudication in a case involving eight defendants charged with firearm and drug-trafficking offenses tied to operations in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia confirmed that Enriquez Cerritos was the last of the group to face sentencing.

Court documents indicate that between July 2024 and January 2026, the conspirators sold dozens of firearms without licenses. Sales occurred at Rancho Los Cerritos in Haymarket, which Enriquez Cerritos leased, and at a shared residence in Chantilly. The Chantilly home was occupied by Jorge Steve Zepeda Irias and Jenifer Icela Romero Fabian. Authorities stated that none of the individuals involved held licenses to sell firearms during this period.

The group also distributed cocaine sourced from co-conspirators in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Zepeda, Romero Fabian, Oscar Raquel Cuellar Macua, and Evelyn Esmeralda Villatoro traveled to various locations to purchase the drugs. Suppliers included Jorge Manuel Romero, Oscar Vladimir Padilla Portillo, and Damon Darnell Gray. Law enforcement agents documented these transactions through a series of controlled purchases.

Agents conducted 47 controlled purchases of firearms and multiple kilograms of cocaine from the defendants. During a specific controlled buy on May 12, 2025, at the Chantilly residence, Zepeda fired a weapon into the ground and pointed a second firearm at another individual. The investigation culminated on January 21, 2026, when officers executed search warrants across Washington and Northern Virginia. On that date, they made controlled purchases of over a dozen firearms and four kilograms of cocaine simultaneously with the warrant executions.

The eight defendants pleaded guilty between April and July 2026. Their sentences, handed down between September and October 2026, reflect varying degrees of involvement. Jorge Manuel Romero, 36, of Beltsville, Maryland, received the harshest penalty of 12 years and seven months for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Jorge Steve Zepeda Irias, 43, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months for charges including dealing in unlicensed firearms and brandishing a firearm during a drug crime. Damon Darnell Gray, 36, of Washington, received 10 years for cocaine distribution.

Other sentences included five years and 10 months for Oscar Raquel Cuellar Macua, 49, and seven years and six months for Oscar Vladimir Padilla Portillo, 32, of Bowie, Maryland. Jenifer Icela Romero Fabian, 25, was sentenced to three years and four months for firearms and cocaine charges. Evelyn Esmeralda Villatoro, 32, of Silver Spring, Maryland, received two years for cocaine distribution. Juan Francisco Enriquez Cerritos Sr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, resulting in his 30-month term.

The prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, established under Executive Order 14159. The order aims to combat criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and human trafficking rings operating within the United States. The task force operates as a whole-of-government partnership to identify and dismantle these organizations.

The regional force included agents from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Additional participants included the Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Washington Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas also contributed to the effort.

The Prince William County Police Department provided assistance during the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia led the prosecution. The Haymarket search took place in January 2026 as part of the broader sweep of locations connected to the defendants.