Dallas Man Sentenced to More Than 14 Years in Federal Prison on Cocaine and Firearm Convictions

DALLAS—Jose Miguel Estevane, 26, of Dallas, was sentenced yesterday afternoon by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to a total of 170 months in federal prison, without parole, on cocaine and firearm convictions, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

Estevane pleaded guilty in March 2010 to one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and one count of carrying a firearm during and relation to a drug trafficking crime. Estevane has been in custody since his arrest in December 2009 by special agents with the FBI on charges outlined in a related federal criminal complaint.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 9, 2009, Estevane agreed to sell five kilograms of cocaine to a confidential informant, working with the FBI, for $125,000. When the FBI executed a search warrant at Estevane’s residence on Fernwood Drive in Dallas that day, they discovered approximately nine kilograms of cocaine on a table, in plain view. In addition, his co-defendant, Alex Noel Mendoza-Cano, 34, was at the residence guarding the drugs. This amount of cocaine is consistent with bulk distribution, not personal use.

Mendoza-Cana pleaded guilty in March 2010 to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and faces a minimum statutory sentence of not less than 10 years or more than life in prison and a $4 million fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Solis on September 8, 2010.

Estevane had a .40 caliber pistol on his person when he was arrested, and admitted that he carried the pistol to protect his interests in the commission of the drug trafficking crime.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay is in charge of the prosecution.