United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

MAN ARRESTED IN TRAFFIC STOP ON I-35 IN ELLIS COUNTY
PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL HEROIN TRAFFICKING OFFENSE

Defendant Faces Up to Life in Prison

DALLAS — Orbelin Martinez, Jr., a resident of South Carolina, pleaded guilty yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to one count of possession with intent to distribute one kilogram of more of heroin, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Martinez, 20, faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than ten years or more than life in prison and a $4 million fine. Sentencing is set for March 11, 2011, before Judge Fitzwater.

According to documents filed in the case, on August 31, 2010, a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper observed a traffic violation and stopped Martinez, who was driving a pickup truck on Interstate 35 in Ellis County, Texas. When Martinez gave an implausible story concerning his travel plans between South Carolina and Texas, the trooper became suspicious and asked Martinez for permission to search his truck.

After a DPS drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the truck, troopers carefully inspected the dashboard and noticed that it had recently been removed. Using a fiber optics scope, they observed bundles, consistent with packaged narcotics, hidden behind the dashboard. They removed the dashboard and discovered five bundles containing approximately six kilograms of heroin. With a $40,000 per kilogram wholesale price, the wholesale value of the heroin was approximately $250,000.

The case is being investigated by DPS and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay is in charge of the prosecution.

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