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Press Release

Multiple felony charges land Coastal Bend meth trafficker in prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 38-year-old Coastal Bend woman has been ordered to federal prison for a conspiracy to distribute 243 grams of meth, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Jennifer Saldana pleaded guilty June 17, 2020. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced Saldana to serve an 84-month sentence to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. 

On May 30, 2019, Saldana and Willie James Sorrell III traveled on a Greyhound bus from McAllen to the Corpus Christi area. At the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias, authorities discovered a backpack near Sorrell’s feet that contained nearly 250 grams of meth and a firearm. 

The investigation revealed Sorrell and Saldana had traveled from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley to obtain distribution amounts of meth.

Sorrell, 48, Corpus Christi, was previously sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.

Saldana has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.   

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation along with Customs and Border Protection and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Manning prosecuted the case. 

Updated March 24, 2021

Topic
Drug Trafficking