Two Texas men who are members of the La Quarenta gang have been sentenced to prison for running a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Southeast Texas.
Ricky Reyna, 36, of Corpus Christi, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release Jan. 19 by U.S. District Judge David Morales, a news release said. Jayden Wandell Coleman, 20, was sentenced to 121 months followed by five years of supervised release April 20, 2022.
“Today’s sentencing is another step in the right direction in our collective effort to root out and eradicate the trafficking of illicit narcotics in the Corpus Christi community by gangs and other criminal elements, but there is much more work to do,” Homeland Security Investigations Corpus Christi Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mario Trevino said in the release. “HSI will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue anyone who traffics these deadly substances to keep them from poisoning our children and destroying our local communities.”
Reyna pleaded guilty Oct. 20, 2021, to “conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamines, heroin and cocaine,” the release reported. Coleman pleaded guilty Jan. 27, 2022, for his role in the drug trafficking operation.
Fernando Martinez, 44, of Corpus Christi, will be sentenced March 15, after pleading guilty Nov. 23, 2021, to involvement in the drug trafficking operation, the release reported.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, the Corpus Christi Police Department's Gang Unit and Homeland Security Investigations Corpus Christi collaborated on the investigation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the release.
