Singer arrested on drug charges


By Mary Anderson -- Staff Writer
Posted: 04/03/08 - 11:45:59 pm CDT

ASHEBORO — A member of one of Mexico’s Grammy award-winning bands is in the Randolph County Jail on drug charges.

Cuauht/moc Gonzalez-Garcia, lead vocalist in the country band, Beto y sus Canarios, was one of three men charged after a search warrant was executed at 5372 Snyder Farm Road, Trinity, on Tuesday.

Gonzalez-Garcia was charged with trafficking in cocaine along with Patricio Cruz, 31, 429 Pametall Road, Matta, Ga., and Rodolfo Lopez-Lopez, 33, 6413 Woodmont Drive, Jamestown. All three are in the Randolph County Jail under $1.5 million bond each.

Cruz and Lopez-Lopez are in the U.S. illegally.

Gonzalez-Garcia, 31, who declined to give an address or speak to officers, is in the U.S. on a visa, police say. He was immediately recognized by a member of the Asheboro vice/narcotics unit as a member of Beto y sus Canarios, one of Mexico’s most popular country bands that has won numerous music awards in Mexico and the United States and has performed in the U.S.

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Gonzalez-Garcia’s identity was confirmed online from his picture and names on Beto y sus Canarios album covers.

Asheboro Police Capt. Jim Smith said the police had no information on the relationships between the men, how they knew each other or why they were in Randolph County. The investigation is ongoing, Smith said.

At a first appearance in Randolph County court on Wednesday, Cruz and Lopez-Lopez were appointed attorneys by the court. Gonzalez-Garcia waived a court-appointed attorney, which means he will either retain his own attorney or represent himself in court.

According to the Randolph Clerk of Court’s office, the men’s next court appearance is April 15.
Smith said the search warrant was obtained on information received by the police department and was carried out as a joint operation of the Asheboro Police Special Operations Division, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.

During the search, officers seized 19 kilograms of cocaine, two vehicles, one firearm and $1,800 in cash.

Smith said the minimum value of the cocaine seized would be around $437,000. The value depends on whether the cocaine was to be sold wholesale, which would be the minimum price, or broken into smaller units.

Smith said the men gave very little information about themselves and Gonzalez-Garcia declined to speak to officers.

According to their online discography, Beto y sus Canarios, which translates to Bobby and His Canaries, released an album, “100% Tierra Caliente,â€