April 27, 2011  ¤  Drug Crimes & Violence, Human Trafficking & Smuggling, Immigration & Customs Crime  ¤  Comment

Last Defendant Charged as a Result of HTRA Investigation of Local Bar Sentenced to Prison for Drug Dealing

The last defendant charged as a result of a human trafficking investigation at a Houston area bar has been sentenced to prison for drug trafficking, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

An investigation was conducted by members of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) into reports that human trafficking involving prostitution and drug dealing were occurring at La Potra bar on the 6100 block of Airline in Houston. As a result, four Honduran nationals, Carlos Cabrera, 46, Wilson Sauzo, 29, Luis Urbina, 28, and Christian Javier Guzman-Flores, 21, were arrested in October 2009 and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

A fifth defendant, Jose Martin Zavala-Acosta, 27, from Mexico, was charged with alien smuggling. Sauzo, Urbina, Guzman-Flores, and Zavala-Acosta each pleaded guilty to the offense charged. Cabrera, however, committed suicide while in federal custody pending federal charges for human trafficking.

Sauzo, the last of the four defendants charged and convicted as a result of the HTRA investigation into La Potra bar, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore to 37 months in federal prison without parole.

Article Tags + Alien Smuggling, Cocaine Distribution, Committed Suicide, Drug Dealing, Drug Trafficking, Forced Labor, Forced Prostitution, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Honduran Nationals, Houston Police Department, HTRA Investigation, Human Trafficking, Human Trafficking Victims, Prostitution

April 26, 2011  ¤  Drug Crimes & Violence, Immigration & Customs Crime  ¤  Comment

5 Members of Multi-million Dollar Drug and Money Smuggling Cell plead Guilty

More than $2.1 million in Assets Seized to Date

Five members and principal leaders of an illegal drug and money transportation cell based in Brownsville, Texas, pleaded guilty on Monday to smuggling into the U.S. and transporting hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, along with millions of dollars in drug proceeds. These guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno, Southern District of Texas. The investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Arturo Gomez, 31, is one of the cell leaders, owner and operator of an auto shop in Brownsville, Texas, that was used as a receiving/delivery and loading point for cocaine and drug proceeds. Magda Zendejas, 28, is a manager in the group responsible for recruiting drivers for load vehicles. Reyna Ceballos, 21, is Zendejas’ niece and contraband transporter. Julio Gonzalez, 45, is Reyna Ceballos’ father, and also a contraband transporter. And David Alcala, 30, is Gomez’s “right-hand man” at the auto shop/stash location.

They all pleaded guilty April 25 before Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head for their involvement in a

Article Tags + Arizpe Auto Glass, Brownsville Texas, Cocaine Trafficking, Commerce Georgia, Corpus Christi TX, Drug and Money Smuggling, Illegal Smuggling, Money Laundering, Operation Stained Glass, Stash House

April 23, 2011  ¤  Drug Crimes & Violence, Gang Crimes & Gang Violence  ¤  Comment

20 Arrested in Corpus Christi during Operation targeting Gang Members

Law enforcement authorities arrested 20 gang members and their associates for robbery, aggravated assault, a felon possessing firearms, and drug and parole violations. This is the latest local effort in an ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiative targeting foreign-born gang members.

This two-day multi-agency operation ended April 21 under the auspices of “Operation Community Shield,” a national initiative where ICE partners with federal, state and local law enforcement to target significant public safety threats posed by transnational street gangs.

The 20 gang members and associates arrested during this operation include the following street gang affiliations:

AD MOB, (1);
Aryan Brotherhood, (2);
Chula Vista, (1);
Little Mobster, (1);
Mexican Mafia, (2);
Suicide Barrio, (2);
Surenos Trece (SUR-13), (1);
Raza Unida, (3); and
Texas Syndicate, (7).

“The effective removal of dangerous gang members and their associates from our streets makes our

Article Tags + AD MOB, Aggravated Assault, Aryan Brotherhood, Chula Vista, Corpus Christi Police Department, Corpus Christi TX, Gang Members, Illegal Gang Activity, Little Mobster, Mexican Mafia, Operation Community Shield, Parole Violations, Raza Unida, Robbery, Sstreet Gang Affiliations, Street Gang Members, Suicide Barrio, Surenos Trece, Texas Syndicate, Unlawful Posession of Firearms

April 23, 2011  ¤  Drug Crimes & Violence, Government Crime & Corruption, Law Enforcement Corruption  ¤  Comment

Former Police Chief of Sullivan City Sentenced to Prison

Court Revokes Bond, Ordering Former Chief Into Custody of USMS

Former Sullivan City Police Chief Hernan Guerra has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for drug trafficking, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

United States District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Hernan Guerra, 44, of Mission, Texas, late yesterday afternoon to 120 months in federal prison without parole and further ordered he begin serving that sentence immediately. Guerra, who had been on bond, was taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service immediately after yesterday’s hearing.

In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Guerra to serve a four-year term of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. Guerra will in due course be transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.

Guerra was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in January of this year after pleading guilty to the federal drug trafficking offense. At that time, Guerra admitted that as police chief of Sullivan City, he assisted the drug traffickers cross their loads of marijuana by alerting members of the illicit organization to the location of U.S. Border Patrol units and by

Article Tags + Bureau of Prisons Facility, Corrupt Texas Police Chief, Customs and Border Protection, Drug Trafficking, Intent to Distribute Marijuana, McAllen TX, Mission TX, Operation Missing Sky, Police Corruption, Starr County HIDTA Task Force, Sullivan City, Sullivan City Police Chief, U.S. Border Patrol Units

April 22, 2011  ¤  Bank & Armored Car Robbery, Drug Crimes & Violence, Gang Crimes & Gang Violence  ¤  Comment

22-Count RICO Indictment Returned

United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging:

Maynard Kenneth Godwin (31) – Andrew Chase Wilkie (29) – Billy James Harper (29) – Jonathan David Hart (29) – Eric Steven Ellis (26) – Brock Roger Skov (31)

All of Jacksonville, with multiple violations of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(c), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, otherwise known as RICO. If convicted on all counts, the defendants face maximum penalties ranging from twenty (20) years to life in federal prison.

The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit firearms, cash, and vehicles, which are alleged to be traceable as proceeds of the offenses or as property used to facilitate the offenses.

According to the indictment, the defendants are members of a criminal enterprise known as the Guardians, an organization allegedly responsible for multiple armed home invasion robberies, armed bank robberies, extortion, witness intimidation, possession of illegal

Article Tags + Anabolic Steroid Distribution, Armed Bank Robberies, Armed Home Invasion, Bank Robbery, Cocaine Distribution, Criminal Enterprise, Distribution of Stolen Merchandise, Extortion, Guardians, Home Invasion, Home Invasion Robberies, Illegal Firearms, Jacksonville FL, Oxycodone Distribution, RICO Indictment, Witness Intimidation