U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani | U.S. Department of Justice
Three San Antonio residents have been sentenced following their convictions for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute approximately five kilograms of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Lucille Nicole Mendoza, 43, Debra Ann Sauceda, 54, and Julian Santiago Espinoza Jr., 32, pleaded guilty on January 5, 2022. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Mendoza and Espinoza to serve a total of 70 months each in prison, while Sauceda received a 60-month term of imprisonment. All three were further ordered to serve three years of supervised release following their incarceration.
On May 31, 2020, law enforcement encountered the trio as they attempted to cross into the United States from the Pharr Port of Entry in a GMC Yukon. Authorities sent them to secondary inspection, which resulted in the discovery of approximately five kilograms of meth hidden in the vehicle's battery.
All three individuals have been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Phelps prosecuted the case.
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