OAKLAND — Seven months after his Instagram selfies led U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials to his doorstep, a Hayward man has agreed to plead guilty to selling guns and drugs, according to documents released Monday.
Marcos Anthony Hatch, 21, pleaded guilty last week to dealing firearms without a license, possessing Xanax for sale, and felony gun possession, court records show. He is scheduled for sentencing in May, but details of the plea deal have been sealed, which is typical in federal cases. Hatch and another man, Manuel John Dovala, were hit with a seven-count indictment in July in an investigation that started with an Instagram screenshot.
Federal agents were investigating a suspected large-scale Contra Costa drug trafficking ring in March when an undercover DEA agent came across an Instagram account called “triggerplayornoplay” (sic), which was later identified as belonging to Hatch, according to court records. They took screen shots as the account posted pictures of codeine syrup, Xanax, marijuana and firearms for sale, including one pistol that displayed a sticker reading “not legal in California.”
Authorities believe Hatch used the hashtag #Holla to invite customers to purchase illegal drugs, and say he would sometimes negotiate deals in the comment section, at one point replying “200” when a user asked how much one ounce of marijuana cost. He also posted a selfie with a stack of U.S. currency with the hashtag, #Takenpenitentiarychances (sic), an indication that “(Hatch) obtained the large amount of money shown by selling controlled substances, and he was taking a chance that if he got caught, he would be arrested and go to jail,” a federal agent wrote in the affidavit.
When authorities raided Hatch’s Oakland home, they found Xanax, guns, ammunition and $59,000 in cash, according to a federal affidavit.
Dovala was arrested months later, after police identified him as someone who’d asked Hatch to sell two guns for him in May. Hatch later advertised two handguns on his account, according to the indictment.
Dovala’s case is still pending. Both defendants were released from custody after the indictment was filed but were required to stay at home and wear electric monitoring ankle bracelets.
