Large cocaine bust on I-70 in Eagle County results in prison sentences for 2 men
False-bottom toolbox in truck was found to contain a large quantity of cocaine
Erik Manuel Garcia Maradiaga, the second of two defendants charged with smuggling 43 pounds of cocaine through Eagle County, was sentenced to eight years in the Colorado Department of Corrections in August, closing the case on one of the largest drug busts the region has seen in recent years.
According to an arrest affidavit issued by Eagle County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Evan Jaramillo, Garcia Maradiaga, 29, was stopped on I-70 on April 11, 2024, after he was seen “crossing over the center line by half the width of the pickup truck” he was driving, a silver Dodge Ram.
The passenger in the vehicle, 44-year-old Ney Natanael Maradiaga Burgos, told Jaramillo that they were both from Florida, headed to St. Louis en route from California, where they had job interviews.
“While talking to Ney, I noticed the driver was not conversational at all with his hands on the steering wheel and staring straight ahead,” Jaramillo wrote in his report. “I tried to converse with the driver, Erik, twice and each time Ney interjected and spoke on his behalf. Ney told me that Erik was only helping him drive and apologized for Erik not having a driver’s license.”
Maradiaga Burgos did have a driver’s license, which he provided to Jaramillo, along with his vehicle registration and proof of insurance.
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Jaramillo said that he found the vehicle to be suspicious because it had made four trips to the state of California from Florida, “with three of the trips occurring in the month of March,” according to his report.
Nevertheless, after issuing Garcia Maradiaga a warning for the traffic violations, Jaramillo said he informed the men that the traffic stop portion of the exchange was over, and while they “were free to leave if they would like,” he did want to “ask them some more questions if that was OK.”
The men stayed at the scene, with Maradiaga Burgos answering questions on their behalf, according to Jaramillo’s report. Much of what Maradiaga Burgos said roused Jaramillo’s suspicions further.
“I then asked both Erik and Ney if they were OK if I searched the vehicle, letting both know they had the right to refuse,” Jaramillo wrote. “Ney said yes, telling me they had nothing in the vehicle.”
Jaramillo said in the vehicle’s cabin he found a Taurus .40 caliber handgun with a loaded magazine in a backpack that was within reaching distance of the driver and passenger.
In the truck bed, Jaramillo said he examined a toolbox and, using his arm for measurement, observed that “the depth of the toolbox from the outside was deeper by 2-3 inches and shorter by 2-3 inches on the inside,” he wrote. “After removing tools from the box, I lifted the carpet to see several vacuum-sealed packages. Based on experience, the packages were illegal drugs and I believed that they were either kilogram packages of cocaine or fentanyl powder.”
Jaramillo removed 18 packages in total from the toolbox’s false bottom, a haul which was later revealed to be more than 43 pounds of cocaine.
“This was not a small amount of drugs,” Deputy District Attorney Josh Savelkoul said in recommending sentencing. “The court is also aware of the danger and the impact not just on our community, but on the state and nation as a whole.”
Judge Rachel Olguin-Fresquez said she is aware of several other recent cases “where similar sentences have been imposed.”
In January of 2024, Washington resident Estevan Osuna received an eight-year sentence after being caught trafficking 12.5 pounds of fentanyl on I-70 in Eagle County. In March, Miguel Del Rio-Gomez and David Ramos-Palma both received seven-year sentences. Ramos-Palma was caught smuggling more than 10,000 fentanyl pills on I-70 in Eagle County, and Del Rio-Gomez was caught with 7 pounds of cocaine and 5.5 pounds of fentanyl.
In March of this year, Maradiaga Burgos pleaded guilty to his role as a codefendant to Garcia Maradiaga. He was sentenced to eight years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, as well.
Garcia Maradiaga received credit for 482 days served in the Eagle County jail, a stay made longer by some deliberation over which court should be prosecuting the crime, his attorney said.
“This case was in limbo, because for some period of time, there was a question of whether or not it would be charged federally,” Garcia Maradiaga’s attorney said.
In July of 2024, 24-year-old Angel Gabriel Valadez, of Chicago, was caught with 23 pounds of cocaine on I-70 in Eagle County, according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office. His case was sent to federal court in October.
