Meth case heats up

When law enforcement officials couldn't catch "three big fish," they turned on their own drug informant, Michael Gerald Gamboa.

So argued Gamboa defense attorney James Hovey Tuesday in hopes of saving his client from a third drug conviction and the possibility of life in prison if convicted in North Dakota's largest methamphetamine trial.

The trial began with jury selection Monday in Fargo's U.S. District Court.

The 27-year-old Gamboa agreed to become a police drug informant to get a reduced sentence for his brother, Robert Gamboa, who is in prison for dealing drugs, Hovey said.

But Michael Gamboa couldn't land "three big fish" for federal prosecutors, so they charged him instead, Hovey said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Reisenauer told the 13-person jury evidence presented during Gamboa's trial will show otherwise.

Gamboa, a high school dropout from East Grand Forks, Minn., had been an informant, but was not working for police when he directed a gang of violent meth dealers from a south Fargo auto shop, Reisenauer said.

"He did provide information in the past, but there will be no evidence to support this defense," Reisenauer said. "He did not commit these crimes under the auspices of law enforcement."

From the auto shop, Gamboa, two of his brothers -- Edward and Rolando -- and three other men distributed more than 100 pounds of meth in Fargo-Moorhead, Bismarck and Grand Forks, N.D, a source close to the investigation said.

Gamboa is charged with eight crimes, including conspiracy to possess and distribute meth, using firearms during drug trafficking, and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Prosecutors Tuesday showed the jury seven firearms they say Gamboa used, including submachine guns, about a pound of meth, and drug paraphernalia seized in a May 29 raid of the auto shop.

Prosecutors' first witness, Clay County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Anderson, showed the jury an electronic scale and a water bottle commonly used to hide drugs.

Anderson pulled the bottle apart to reveal a compartment hidden behind the label.

Anderson, who served on the Drug Enforcement Administration's local task force, and four other law enforcement officers testified as to their involvement in the shop's raid.

Members of the Red River Drug Task Force shot percussion grenades into the building and used a battering ram to knock down a steel door, said Tony Krogh, a Cass County Deputy and drug task force member.

Michael Gamboa tried to escape by breaking a window, but didn't resist arrest, said Jeff Stickney, a Fargo-based DEA agent.

Officers arrested Edward Gamboa during the same raid.

In Michael Gamboa's pockets, officers found two baggies containing meth and about $500, Stickney said.

About six guns and a pound of meth were found in a Lincoln Continental parked inside the shop, Anderson said.

Hovey said the car is owned by James "Pete" Sabo, a Fargo man who owns the building in which the shop is located.

Officers also searched a BMW and Humvee parked inside the shop during the raid as well as an office and other rooms, he said.

Reisenauer told the jury they can expect to hear drug users, drug dealers and convicted felons testify.

"You will hear testimony from people who are on the fringes," Reisenauer said. "To make a case, law enforcement has to find people who will provide information about this drug world.

"All of these types of witnesses are needed to put this picture puzzle together," he said.

Hovey asked the jury to judge such witnesses' credibility "with an eye of skepticism.

"Look at their motive," he said.

Cassidy Kyle Stich and James Nicholas Borkowski, both Grand Forks, and Delwin Jo Whitelightning, Bismarck, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges Monday.

All three are expected to testify against Michael Gamboa in hopes of getting reduced sentences.

Rolando Gamboa and Edward Gamboa will stand trial Jan. 21.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Zent at (701) 241-5526