FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
ANGELA DODGE |
March 5, 2012 |
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER |
(713) 567-9388 |
South Texas Man Enters Plea in Drug Conspiracy
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Jose Garza aka “Cano,” 24, of Sullivan City, Texas, has entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
A fugitive since 2008, Garza was taken into custody Jan. 30, 2012, when he turned himself in to law enforcement officials in McAllen, Texas. Garza was indicted July 17, 2008, alleging he participated in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy from approximately June 2006 through April 2008.
The government’s evidence indicated Garza was involved in a large-scale cocaine-trafficking conspiracy which was based in Sullivan City. Garza was employed as a “gofer” for members of this conspiracy, delivering cocaine within Sullivan City and also conducting counter-surveillance activities.
More than 20 members of this conspiracy have already been arrested and convicted and more than $5 million in assets from this organization, including multiple pieces of real property and United States currency, have been seized and forfeited by the United States.
Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack, who accepted the guilty plea today, has set sentencing for May 24, 2012, at which time Garza faces up to life imprisonment and a maximum fine of $4 million.
The investigation leading to the criminal charges was conducted in Corpus Christi by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations and the Corpus Christi Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julie K. Hampton and Jon Muschenheim.