Leigha Simonton, United States Attorney, Northern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas
Among the 29 cartel leaders extradited from Mexico to the United States recently is Jose Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, known as "El Gato," according to Chad Meacham, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Villarreal Hernandez, a senior figure in the Beltran-Leyva Organization (BLO) Drug Cartel, faces charges from June 2018 for interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire related to the killing of a Southlake, Texas lawyer in 2013. He was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List in October 2020 and apprehended by Mexican authorities in January 2023.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his extradition, vowing to prosecute all extradited cartel figures "to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels."
Villarreal Hernandez is set for an initial federal court appearance next week. Evidence presented at his coconspirators' trial indicated that he allegedly directed efforts over several years to locate and assassinate his victim due to suspected involvement in his father's death.
The victim was killed on May 22, 2013, while sitting in a vehicle outside a shopping center in Southlake. Three men involved were convicted and sentenced in 2016: Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes and Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda received life sentences for interstate stalking and conspiracy; Ledezma-Campano pleaded guilty before trial and was sentenced to 20 years.
Ramon Villarreal-Hernandez, brother of Jose Rodolfo, was arrested and extradited earlier. He pleaded guilty to interstate stalking in June 2022 with a ten-year sentence.
The U.S. State Department links Villarreal Hernandez not only to this murder but also to large cocaine importation into the U.S. and violent acts within both Mexico and the U.S.
"After more than a decade, Mr. Villarreal Hernandez will have to answer for his alleged crimes in an American courtroom," said Chad Meacham. "Since the victim was gunned down... law enforcement’s commitment has never wavered."
FBI Dallas Special Agent R. Joseph Rothrock noted that "FBI Dallas and the Southlake Police Department have been determined" since this case began. DEA Dallas Special Agent Eduardo A. Chávez remarked on policing as teamwork against violence and drug trafficking.
An indictment is an allegation; Mr. Villarreal Hernandez remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The maximum penalty for interstate stalking or murder-for-hire could be life imprisonment or death.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including FBI Dallas Field Office, DEA Dallas Division, Southlake Police Department among others. Mexican authorities like Secretaría de Marina coordinated Villarreal-Hernandez's arrest.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn Smith and Laura Montes are prosecuting Villarreal Hernandez's case after prior prosecutions led by Joshua Burgess (fmr) and Aisha Saleem against other defendants.
