Corpus man on supervision for firearms charge imprisoned for drug stash found at home

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old man has been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Phil Cuellar III aka Tex pleaded guilty Aug. 7, 2023. 

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now sentenced him to 168 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Cuellar had been on supervised release for a previous felon in possession of a firearm charge at the time of his drug arrest. As such, the court ordered him to serve an additional 20 months in federal prison, 10 months to be served concurrently and 10 months to be served consecutively for a total 178-month-term of imprisonment.   

During the hearing, the court heard additional evidence regarding Cuellar’s criminal history including Cuellar’s gang membership in Tango Blast, two prior felony drug possession convictions involving intent to deliver, evading arrest in a vehicle and felon in possession of a firearm. 

The investigation began after Cuellar attempted to sell narcotics after reaching out to someone on social media.

On May 24, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Cuellar’s residence. During the search, they found 389 grams of meth, over 27 grams of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, THC cartridges, almost $20,000 in cash and a loaded firearm that had been reported stolen.

Cuellar will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, Corpus Christi Police Department’s Gang Unit and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara J. De Pena and Brittany Jensen prosecuted the case.