Dallas man sentenced to 65 months in prison for role in southwest la methamphetamine conspiracy

ALEXANDRIA, La. – Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that the last defendant in a drug conspiracy was sentenced last week to more than five years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution scheme that stretched from Mexico to Texas to southwest Louisiana.

Raul Perez-Mendoza, 26, a Dallas Texas resident, originally from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. Perez-Mendoza and seven other defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in southwest Louisiana from January 2012 to July 2013.

In addition to Perez-Mendoza, seven other defendants were indicted. They are: Mario Barazza-Corral, 42, and Omar Ivan Barazza-Corral, 33, of Chihuahua, Mexico, who are brothers; Sergio Reyes Castillo, 51, of Mexico City, Mexico; Jessica Kristin Clark, 43, of Houston, Texas; Lazaro Perez Cribeiro, 53, of Cuba; Brian Keith Hebert, 55, of Ragley, La.; Billy Washington Hyatt, 47, of Singer, La.; and Jarrid James Hargrave, 35, of Abbeville, La. Omar Ivan Barazza-Corral was not arrested and is still being sought for prosecution. These rest of the defendants previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced as shown below:

*Count 1 is conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, counts 2-8, 10 and 11 are distribution of methamphetamine, and count 9 is possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to Perez-Mendoza’s March 9, 2017 guilty plea, Mario Barazza-Corral was the leader of the conspiracy and imported methamphetamine from Mexico. He would then transport the drugs to points in Texas and then either transport them himself or arrange for others to transport the drugs to Vinton, La. He would supply his brother Omar Ivan Barazza-Corral who lived in Vinton with drugs, and his brother would distribute them to others. Perez-Mendoza assisted the brothers with transporting and distributing 500 grams to 1.5 kilograms of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.

The defendants were arrested as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation named “Havana Speed.” Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Vinton Police Department and Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger and Jamilla A. Bynog are prosecuting the case.