Former S. Texas sheriff guilty in drug case

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
Associated Press
Published: Friday, May 1, 2009 3:44 PM CDT

McALLEN — A former South Texas sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to a drug trafficking charge for assisting a Mexican drug ring that ran narcotics through his border county.

Reymundo "Rey" Guerra pleaded to a charge of conspiring to distribute narcotics while he was Starr County sheriff. As part of a plea deal that recommended dropping two other charges, prosecutors termed Guerra a "minor participant."

Still, Guerra could face a sentence from 10 years to life in prison when he's sentenced by a judge in July. The judge has discretion on sentencing, but given the plea deal and the fact that prosecutors characterized Guerra's role as minor, a life term seems unlikely. His attorney said he hoped that Guerra's acceptance of responsibility mean a lower sentence.

"He realizes he has made serious mistakes in judgment and is accepting responsibility for those lapses in judgment," attorney Philip Hilder said. "He got too close to some of the defendants in this case and provided some information he should not have."

Guerra, dressed in a navy sport coat and khaki slacks, declined comment and remained free on bond until his sentencing. Outside the courtroom, Hilder said Guerra "feels like he let down his family, friends and constituents and he's deeply remorseful."

FBI agents arrested Guerra, known to his coconpirators as "Tio" or uncle in Spanish, at his office in October after a federal grand jury indicted him and more than a dozen others following an operation called "Carlito's Weigh." The case grew to include 28 defendants.

By sharing information, and in one instance giving false documents to one of his deputies to close a case related to the drug trafficking operation, Guerra made it easier for the Mexican Gulf Cartel to move drugs through his county, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Toni Trevino said Guerra's relationship with convicted drug figure Jose Carlos Hinojosa began as a legitimate law enforcement contact. Hinojosa, who worked with Mexican law enforcement, had helped in the return of fugitive suspects to the United States.

Hinojosa, who investigators allege worked for the Gulf Cartel's enforcers known as the Zetas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs and money laundering in April.

At Guerra's arraignment in October, FBI agent Katherine Gutierrez testified about recorded phone conversations between Guerra and Hinojosa, a Mexico native living in Roma, Texas. Gutierrez said then the recorded conversations were not like those between fellow law enforcement officers.

By 2007, Guerra knew Hinojosa had switched sides and was involved in drug trafficking, Trevino said.

Hinojosa sent sporadic payments of between $2,000 and $3,000 to Guerra for information. Sometimes Guerra would warn Hinojosa about increased law enforcement presence in certain parts of the county, but the government did not find evidence that Guerra protected or cleared a path for drug shipments, Trevino said.

Guerra's most overt act may have been when authorities raided a stash house where they found 314 kilograms of marijuana and one kilogram of cocaine. Hinojosa asked Guerra where the tip for the raid originated. Guerra, already under investigation by the FBI, asked one his deputies. The FBI had him feed Guerra information, which he relayed to Hinojosa.

Hinojosa also arranged to have false lease papers that would derail the stash house's investigation delivered to Guerra, which he then passed on to his deputy.

Trevino said one of the defendants in the case explained that he "always sends money to Guerra for the same thing, so the doors will always be open."

Investigators later intercepted a phone call from Hinojosa assuring his coconspirators that "Tio" took care of everything, Trevino said.

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