Former jailer sentenced to two years on federal drug charges

Former jailer sentenced to two years on federal drug charges
June 24, 2008 - 6:08PM
Jeremy Roebuck

McALLEN - A former Hidalgo County jailer was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison for his role in a marijuana distribution conspiracy.

Jose Armando Sanchez, 29, of Alton, pleaded guilty in December to charges stemming from an incident months before in which he attempted to sell 100 pounds of the drug to an undercover U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Authorities arrested him and three accomplices Sept. 19 after the agent met Sanchez at a McAllen taqueria and lent his car to the other men to go pick up drugs.

They took the vehicle back to Sanchez's home, loaded it with marijuana and drove back to Taqueria El Zarape, on the 4400 block of North 23rd Street, where they had planned to transfer the contraband.

The three men - Francisco Alejandro Cedillo, 20, of Palmview, Eric Garcia, 25, of Mission, and Eric Perez, 25, also of Mission - have since admitted their role in the drug operation and are already serving prison terms.

Soon after Sanchez's arrest, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño fired him from his job at the county detention center - a position he had held since at least 2004. He has since remained in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

As part of his sentencing, Sanchez must also participate in drug treatment and submit to three years of supervised release upon his release from prison.

Sanchez's attorney, Oscar Alvarez, did not return calls for comment Tuesday afternoon.

He is at least the 18th Hidalgo County sheriff's officer - of about 12 deputies and six jailers - to have been fired or resigned amid investigations into possible criminal activity since Treviño took office in January 2005.

The sheriff has responded to those numbers by calling many of the former employees - including Sanchez - "bad apples" hired under the administration of former sheriff Enrique Escalon.