Martinez man’s disability payments were canceled after ‘horrific’ crash. So he became a cocaine dealer

MARTINEZ When Rene Aguayo crashed his car on Interstate here four years ago suffering numerous fractures and ending up in a coma who could have predicted the near-tragedy would one day land him in federal prison According to court records that motorcycle crash was the inciting event that led Aguayo to seek an illegal income stream after his disability benefits were cut off sending his life down a spiral that ended like this On June U S District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sentenced Aguayo to three years in federal prison following his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine Aguayo a Martinez resident was busted in with more than four pounds of cocaine bagged up for sale inside his home Police also exposed a stash of methamphetamine for personal use a loaded pistol in cash and particular silencers hidden in a gaming room according to court records Aguayo explained he had won the pistol from at a poker match and the idiot had offered it up instead of money Both prosecutors and Aguayo s attorney agree that despite the prison term he has reason to be optimistic for his future His sentencing was postponed until after his completion of a sobriety project and the defense argued his drug addiction was the root cause of both the crash and the cocaine dealing A prosecution sentencing memo says the ruling body hopes that Mr Aguayo uses the time spent in federal custody to better himself and to continue to address the drug addiction Aguayo worked for various restoration companies in the s but lost himself in after his disability benefits dried up In the September crash he suffered a brain injury that caused memory loss nerve damage as well a fractured skull shattered eye sockets broken ribs broken fibula and a shattered right ankle court filings by the defense say The accident not only damaged his body it damaged his spirit because it was impossible for Mr Aguayo to earn a living Mr Aguayo s sense of self was intrinsically linked to his ability to work and provide defense attorney Sierra Promise Dugan wrote in a sentencing memo Still in a wheelchair without the ability to work Mr Aguayo was in a desperate situation and turned to drug sales to make ends meet This is a choice Mr Aguayo deeply regrets Prosecutors say that the Contra Costa Sheriff s office was reviewing a bigger cocaine dealer Jaime Limon-Gonzalez who was caught with nine-and-a-half pounds of cocaine and during raids of stash houses in Modesto and Pleasant Hill When police searched his phone they detected texts between him and Aguayo discussing cocaine sales according to court records That probe took a darker turn Once behind bars Limon-Gonzalez discovered an unnamed executive informant had given up information about him in December He and another man then discussed plans recorded on a jail phone to pay the informant a visit and take care of him such that the informant should enjoy these days for now ' prosecutors disclosed in court filings Limon-Gonzalez was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison last year