Man faces life in prison in record cocaine bust

A California real estate salesman faces life in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to drug trafficking in the largest cocaine seizure in Carson Valley history.

Juan Carlos Medina, 34, of West Covina, was arrested in April with nearly 5 pounds of cocaine in the trunk of his car when he and a passenger were stopped at a Minden convenience store.

Because of the amount, the offense - trafficking in a controlled substance - is a class A felony and the penalties range from 5 to 15 years in prison, or 5 years to life in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Medina is ineligible for parole unless he provides substantial assistance to law enforcement in other drug cases.

He has been in Douglas County Jail on $250,000 cash bail since his arrest.

On Monday, District Judge Michael Gibbons refused to lower Medina's bail.

Medina's lawyer, Kenneth Stover of Reno, asked for lower bail so his client could return to California and take care of his real estate business.

"Prior to bringing the drugs up, he was a real estate agent. He just married. His business has collapsed," Stover said. "He is not going to go down south and flee across the border. He is a U.S. citizen. He needs to resolve his business."

Prosecutor Kris Brown argued against the lowered bail, citing Medina's potential as a flight risk since he faces life in prison.

Gibbons said he didn't want to take the chance that Medina would not return for his Nov. 20 sentencing.

Medina and another man were arrested April 4 in the parking lot of a Minden convenience store.

Deputies found the cocaine packaged in two 1-kilogram bricks in the trunk of Medina's vehicle.

The arrests were made at the conclusion of a two-week investigation conducted by the sheriff's office Street Enforcement Team and the Tri-Net Task Force.