FRESNO  -  Hacel Alfredo Alvarez, 35, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Alvarez admitted that he was storing for the purpose of distribution 21 pounds of methamphetamine and over 1 pound of heroin that officers found at his residence in Bakersfield during the execution of a search warrant. The officers also found $8,980 in cash under the mattress in his bedroom.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Southern Tri-County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force, which consists of agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

Alvarez is scheduled to appear in federal court in Fresno for sentencing on May 18. He faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would 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.