South Texas man sentenced to nearly 13 years for marijuana trafficking

MCALLEN, Texas — A resident of Roma, Texas, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years and seven months in federal prison following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Ricardo Hinojosa was sentenced to serve 151 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, on Sept. 1, 2011, Hinojosa and others agreed to transport about 211 kilograms (465 pounds) of marijuana from a location near the Rio Grande River in Starr County to another location for further distribution. The other co-conspirators included Ramiro Reyes, Rogelio Vela, Javier Gonzalez, Eric Garza and Jose Ibarra. As part of an additional scheme, and before the marijuana was transported, Hinojosa and others agreed to steal the load of marijuana from the actual owner. They would steal the marijuana and have the actual marijuana owner believe the marijuana was seized by law enforcement.

Hinojosa, Reyes, Vela, Gonzales and Garza were sentenced to respective terms of federal prison of 151, 63, 60, 32 and 24 months. Ibarra had been previously sentenced to 30 months for his role and activities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason C. Honeycutt, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.