South Texas man gets federal prison sentence in $33 million marijuana case

A drug trafficker who couldn’t escape authorities via an attic vent will now spend 15 years in a federal prison.

Adan Ontiveros Jr., 35, of Roma pleaded guilty April 24 to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute nearly 2,500 kilograms, or around 5,512 pounds, of marijuana worth $33 million, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani announced in a news release Thursday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane also sentenced Ontiveros to 10 years of supervised release once his prison sentence is complete.

On July 16, 2020, law enforcement was conducting surveillance at a suspected drug house in Roma when they saw Ontiveros try to escape from the house via an attic vent. The attempt failed and he was taken into custody.

Authorities got a search warrant and found hundreds of bundles of marijuana weighing a total 2,477 kilograms, with an approximate value of more than $33 million.

Law enforcement said Ontiveros admitted he knew there was marijuana inside the stash house.

He will stay in custody until he is transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Phelps and Roberto Lopez Jr. are prosecuting.

Logo-favicon

Sign up to receive the latest local, national & international Criminal Justice News in your inbox, everyday.

We don’t spam! Read our [link]privacy policy[/link] for more info.

Sign up today to receive the latest local, national & international Criminal Justice News in your inbox, everyday.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.