Ten Odessans Plead Guilty to Distribution of Cocaine
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 25, 2011 |
United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that 10 Odessa, Texas residents face lengthy mandatory federal prison terms after pleading guilty to cocaine trafficking charges.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge David Counts on Friday, Ruben Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Rodriguez’s co-defendants all pleaded guilty to the same charge earlier this month. They are: Aureliano Aranda, aka “Boy”; Priscilla Ann Rodriguez; Rene Vasquez; Santiago Fuentes Martinez, aka “Jimmy”; Raul Hernandez; Sylvia Espinoza Escovedo, aka “China”; Jorge Carrasco Valenzuela; Sonia Rodriguez Rocha; and Christopher Albert Anaya.
The FBI investigation began in November 2009, when law enforcement made the first of six controlled purchases of cocaine from Aureliano Aranda. Subsequently, the investigation revealed that the defendants, under the direction of Aranda and Priscilla Ann Rodriguez, were responsible for a considerable amount of cocaine trafficking throughout the Odessa area.
Priscilla Ann Rodriguez, Santiago Fuentes Martinez, and Sonia Rodriguez Rocha each face a minimum term of ten years imprisonment and up to life imprisonment; each of the remaining defendants, between five and 40 years’ imprisonment. No sentencing dates have been scheduled.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Austin M. Berry is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.