(Lawrenceville, Ga., 10/6/25) – A Duluth man and his mother will serve 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for running a methamphetamine lab in their basement.

A jury found William Alexander Franco-Diaz, 25, guilty of trafficking more than 400 grams of methamphetamine for operating the basement lab. He was sentenced to 30 years, with 20 to serve in prison and the remainder on parole and must also pay a $1 million fine. Glendy Diaz-Estobar, 42, pleaded guilty to trafficking more than 400 grams of methamphetamine prior to the trial and was ordered to serve 10 years in prison and pay a $200,000 fine.

 “We don’t want drugs in our community, and this outcome is a sign that we are serious about keeping them out,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “If you are dealing drugs in Gwinnett County, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

 In November 2021, Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents conducting surveillance on a suspected methamphetamine lab noticed Franco-Diaz and Diaz-Estobar going and coming from the Duluth home on Valley Ridge Lane. During a safety sweep, DEA agents discovered a methamphetamine conversion lab in the basement of the home. In the lab, in addition to 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, law enforcement officers found several buckets of tar containing liquid methamphetamine to be converted for sale as crystal methamphetamine. They also found a half kilogram of finished methamphetamine in Franco-Diaz’s bedroom underneath his mail, and a half kilogram inside a safe in Diaz-Estobar’s bedroom.

 Drug and Gang Task Force Assistant District Attorneys David Ian and Lindsey Share prosecuted the case with assistance from task force Investigators Yayoi Huggins and John Wilbanks and Victim Advocate Trina Bradford. Members of DEA Strike Force 1 were also instrumental in closing the case.