Gang Member Sentenced to 20 Years In Federal Prison on Drug and Gun Charges

HARRISONBURG, Va. – A gang member associated with Sureno 13, who sold methamphetamine and possessed firearms, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Hector Espinosa, 37, of Stephens City, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 240 months in federal prison. Espinosa was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon following a jury trial in November 2024.

“This office will seek maximum accountability against transnational criminal organizations who prey on our citizens and communities,” Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “I am grateful for the outstanding work of our federal partners at the Drug Enforcement Administration and the ATF on this case.”

According to documents and evidence presented at trial, Espinosa and Ivan Ruiz-Gonzalez conspired with each other, and others, to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Northern Shenandoah Valley in the Western District of Virginia.

On February 21, 2023, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from a co-conspirator in the case, Andres Vicencio. Vicencio had contacted Ruiz-Gonzalez to obtain methamphetamine. Agents observed Ruiz-Gonzalez enter Espinosa’s home, obtain a pound of methamphetamine and give it to Vicencio, who in turn sold it to a law enforcement source. When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Espinosa’s home, he answered the door with a firearm in his waistband.

During his trial, Espinosa presented evidence that Ruiz-Gonzalez was at his home on the night of February 21, 2023, to purchase a pound of ‘carnitas’ because he and his wife owned a catering business. However, evidence and business records contradicted this claim.

Following the trial while awaiting sentencing, Espinosa was incarcerated with a witness in the case. Espinosa threatened the witness and the lives of his family to coerce the witness to “recant” his trial testimony.

Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Christopher C. Goumenis Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Virginia State Police, and Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Taskforce.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh prosecuted the case for the United States.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The Virginia HSTF comprises agents and officers from throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia with the prosecutions being led by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.