Former Police Chief of Sullivan City Sentenced to Prison

Court Revokes Bond, Ordering Former Chief Into Custody of USMS

MCALLEN, TX—Former Sullivan City Police Chief Hernan Guerra has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole for drug trafficking, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

United States District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Hernan Guerra, 44, of Mission, Texas, late yesterday afternoon to 120 months in federal prison without parole and further ordered he begin serving that sentence immediately. Guerra, who had been on bond, was taken into custody by the United States Marshals Service immediately after yesterday’s hearing. In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Guerra to serve a four-year term of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence. Guerra will in due course be transferred to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.

Guerra was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in January of this year after pleading guilty to the federal drug trafficking offense. At that time, Guerra admitted that as police chief of Sullivan City, he assisted the drug traffickers cross their loads of marijuana by alerting members of the illicit organization to the location of U.S. Border Patrol units and by directing his officers to other locations to avoid their interfering with or intercepting the traffickers as they ran the loads of marijuana from the river into Sullivan City. Guerra was paid for the assistance he provided the traffickers. In determining the sentence he ultimately handed down yesterday, Judge Crane considered and commented upon Guerra’s abuse of his position of trust as the police chief for Sullivan City, noting that his conduct undermined the community’s faith in law enforcement.

“We agree Guerra’s abuse of his position undermines the community’s faith in law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Moreno. “However, we trust this investigation and prosecution serves as a significant step toward restoring that faith.”

Another seven defendants who were charged with and have pleaded guilty along with Guerra to the conspiracy charge for their involvement in the marijuana trafficking organization that Guerra protected were also sentenced yesterday. The following six defendants sentenced yesterday pleaded guilty in January 2011:

Renato Villalon, 34, of Sullivan City, who was a driver for the organization, was sentenced to 151 months' confinement to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release.

Felix Gallardo Noyola, 38, of Mexico, whose role in the organization was to ride as a passenger in load vehicles throwing spikes to impede law enforcement vehicles, was sentenced to 80 months' imprisonment to be followed by a four-year term of supervised release.

Noe Salinas, 30, of Sullivan City, a scout for the organization and who maintained a stash house for the organization, was sentenced to 78 months' confinement and a four-year term of supervised release.

Michael Montelongo, 19, also of Sullivan City, whose role included conducting countersurveillance for law enforcement on the United States side of the border, was sentenced to 60 months' confinement as well as a four-year term of supervised release.

Two scouts for the organization, Juan Carlos Escalera, 30, and Angel Gilberto Martinez, 18, both of Sullivan City, were sentenced to 60 months' and 30 months' imprisonment, respectively, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

The seventh defendant, Javier Francisco Pena Trevino, 41, of Sullivan City, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2011, admitting his role as a scout for the organization, was also sentenced by Judge Crane yesterday. Trevino will serve a 37-month prison term and a three-year term of supervised release.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation, dubbed Operation Missing Sky, leading to the charges and ultimately the conviction of Guerrra and others was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and the Starr County HIDTA Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Profit is prosecuting the case.