Jorge Steve Zepeda Irias, manager of Rancho Los Cerritos in Haymarket, has pleaded guilty after FBI raids on the 38-acre farm and Salvadoran-style restaurant on U.S. 15. The property has remained closed since the Jan. 21 and 22 searches.
The plea covers four felony charges, including conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and two firearm counts tied to drug trafficking. Authorities say the case grew from an undercover investigation involving firearms, drugs, and multiple defendants.
Guilty Plea and Federal Charges
Zepeda pleaded guilty to four felony charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8. The charges include conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and two firearm counts tied to drug trafficking.
The firearm counts are especially serious because they accuse Zepeda of using, carrying, and brandishing a gun during a drug trafficking offense. Under federal law, that type of charge can carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The FBI raids also led authorities to seize dozens of animals from Rancho Los Cerritos, including chickens, ducks, geese, goats, pigs, and an alpaca. That detail shows how large the operation was when agents moved through the Haymarket property.
Undercover Investigation and Alleged Firearm Sales
The undercover investigation ran from July 2024 to January 2026, according to court records. Prosecutors said Zepeda conspired to sell 47 firearms to a confidential source, with transactions allegedly tied to Rancho Los Cerritos, his home, and vehicles across the region.
Court documents said the weapons included revolvers, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, assault rifles, AR-15s, AK-47s, and ghost guns. That range matters because prosecutors are describing repeated firearm trafficking, not a single private sale that happened once and ended there.
Prosecutors also said Zepeda told a confidential informant he had previously sold about five firearms a week to members of a transnational gang. He allegedly brought his wife or daughter to transactions to avoid drawing attention from law enforcement.
Others Tied to the Haymarket Investigation
Zepeda’s wife, Jenifer Icela Romero Fabian, was arrested at Dulles International Airport after allegedly buying a ticket to El Salvador. She remains awaiting trial, which keeps her part of the case separate from Zepeda’s guilty plea for now.
Three others have also pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation: Oscar Vladimir Padilla Portillo, Damon Darnell Gray, and Evelyn Esmeralda Villatoro. That matters because prosecutors are not presenting the Haymarket case as one person acting alone at the ranch.
Multiple guilty pleas can help prosecutors build a clearer picture of roles, transactions, and shared knowledge. In this case, the ranch, alleged firearm sales, drug trafficking charges, and family connections all sit inside the same federal investigation.
Endnote
The Haymarket case adds to the debate over how rural properties and legitimate-looking businesses can become part of federal gun and drug investigations. Rancho Los Cerritos was a farm and restaurant, yet prosecutors tied it to alleged firearm sales and trafficking.
Next comes Zepeda’s Sept. 8 sentencing, Romero Fabian’s pending trial, and any remaining evidence from the undercover investigation. Prosecutors will likely lean on guilty pleas, transaction records, and confidential source details to show how the alleged operation worked over time.