South Texas man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for drug trafficking
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A south Texas man was sentenced Friday to 25 years in federal prison following his conviction on drug trafficking and possessing methamphetamine and cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
Those charged in relation to this case were identified through a long-term investigation conducted jointly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Texas Department of Public Safety.
Rodolfo Casares, 38, from Brownsville, Texas, was sentenced June 12 by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to 300 months in federal prison, which is to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. The jury deliberated for two hours following a two-day trial and returned the guilty verdict Jan. 22. He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking and two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
At trial, 10 government witnesses testified, which included testimony that Casares supplied heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine to a major drug trafficking organization headquartered in Mathis, Texas, and lead by Ricardo Guerrero, 56, of Mathis. On March 18, 2014, a federal jury in Corpus Christi convicted Guerrero for leading this conspiracy; he was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment June 5, 2014.
"The potential of a quarter of a century behind bars should send a message to those who think drug smuggling is worth the risk," said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of HSI Houston. "This case was made possible through the hard work and efforts of our Corpus Christi-based HSI team and their law enforcement partners."
Casares was involved in the conspiracy from 2009 through most of 2012. He used his connections in Mexico to obtain illegal narcotics and smuggled them into Texas at Brownsville, McAllen or Laredo. The illegal narcotics were then transported to Guerrero and stored in numerous properties Guerrero owned in Mathis and in neighboring counties. Trial testimony also indicated that Guerrero’s criminal organization moved kilogram amounts of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine at least once or twice per month during the conspiracy.
Guerrero then made arrangements to sell the heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine throughout south Texas and in San Antonio. On Aug. 20, 2011, three conspirators that Casares had hired were arrested at the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint at Hebbronville, Texas, while they were attempting to transport methamphetamine and cocaine to Guerrero.
Casares will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad W. Cowan, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.
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