3 West Texas methamphetamine distributors for Sinaloa cartel sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms

LUBBOCK, Texas — Three men, who were sent by the Sinaloa Cartel to Lubbock to distribute methamphetamine for the cartel, were sentenced Friday to lengthy federal prison sentences, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced Juan Carlos Pinales, 23, to 151 months in federal prison, Ramon Osvaldo Escobar-Robles, 25, to 78 months in federal prison, and Jesus Mario Moreno-Perez, 24, to 120 months in federal prison.  Each pleaded guilty last year to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and aiding and abetting.  Escobar-Robles and Moreno-Perez are in the U.S. illegally.

This joint investigation was conducted by the following agencies:  FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, and Lubbock Police Department According to documents filed in the case, the investigation revealed that the Sinaloa cartel had sent three individuals to Lubbock to distribute methamphetamine for the cartel.  In June 2015, a search warrant was executed at their Lubbock residence on Birch Avenue.

At the time the warrant was executed, the three defendants were home.  The search by law enforcement yielded several containers or bags of suspected methamphetamine in the attic, which included the following items: 

• two red Tupperware containers that contained a total of 5.06 pounds of suspected methamphetamine,
• 19 clear plastic bags that contained a total of 1.42 pounds of suspected methamphetamine,
• two clear plastic bags that contained a total of 17.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine,
• and one clear plastic bag that contained 31.2 grams of suspected methamphetamine;
• as well as a black pouch that contained $3,783 in cash;
• numerous cellphones;
• money transfer receipts;
• and a spiral notebook that contained writings consistent with a drug ledger, showing amounts distributed to and owed by various persons.

A DPS crime laboratory analysis confirmed that the substance in the two red Tupperware containers was, in fact, methamphetamine with a net weight of 1,797.92 grams and a purity level of at least 91.7 percent.  All three defendants admitted they jointly possessed the methamphetamine found in the attic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.