A former Justice of the Peace (JP) and another Starr County resident pleaded guilty in March to participating in a drug trafficking organization. Former JP Roel Valadez, Jr., was sentenced to 21 months and three years post-prison supervision, while Alberto Reyes-Roiz was sentenced to 22 years, as well as five years supervised release, according to the July news release from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Both Valadez and Reyes-Roiz are from Rio Grande City, according to the DEA news release dated July 1. The duo were sentenced by Chief US District Judge Randy Crane. In sentencing, Crane found that Reyes-Roiz led the drug trafficking organization, importing massive quantities of drugs from Mexico for distribution in Texas. Reyes-Roiz was also responsible for importing 43 kilograms of methamphetamine to the US, as well as cocaine and marijuana. Reyes-Roiz will remain in custody and be transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
Valadez was trading favors for Ignacio Garza, one of the heads of the drug trafficking organization. After Garza learned that one of his drug couriers had been arrested, Valadez called the Starr County Jail to find out if the courier had been booked and then called another JP to find out if the courier could be released on his own recognizance. Valadez was a JP starting in 2018. When he pled guilty on March 18, he admitted to possessing with intent to distribute less than 100 kilograms of marijuana and that he used his position to assist someone else in getting a low bond for a worker who had been detained by law enforcement. Valadez is out on bond and will voluntarily surrender at a later date.
Garza, also of Rio Grande City, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on Sept. 5. He could face up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million fine. He remains in custody, according to the DEA news release.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration was created in 1973 to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring organizations involved in illicit drug activities to justice. The DEA supports non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances.
