Houston Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for IH-10 Drug Trafficking

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 21-year-old Houston woman has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Emily Eliza Villarreal pleaded guilty on June 27, 2017 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.

           According to information presented in court, on Oct. 27, 2016, law enforcement officers pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 10 eastbound in Beaumont for a traffic violation.  Villarreal was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Hugo Alejandro Garcia.  The driver was extremely nervous and during questioning he and Villarreal provided officers with inconsistencies as to their travel plans.  Garcia gave consent to search the vehicle which resulted in officers discovering four bundles wrapped in black electrical tape and concealed under the carpet in the trunk.  Garcia admitted to transporting narcotics and stated he was on his way to Louisiana with the drugs.  The bundles contained four kilograms of crack cocaine.  Garcia and Villarreal were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2, 2016.

                This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Rapp.