Law Enforcement Arrests Five for Running a Cocaine and Marijuana Distribution Conspiracy in North Texas

ABILENE, TX—Five defendants charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Lubbock, Texas, with running a cocaine and marijuana distribution conspiracy in north Texas, have been arrested. One defendant, Semei Cuevas Rodriguez, Sr., is a fugitive. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

The defendants were arrested without incident in an early morning takedown by agents of the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Marshals Service, the West Central Texas Interlocal Crime Task Force, the Abilene Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office. All are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Scott Frost, in Abilene, tomorrow, June 24, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. for their initial appearances.

During the course of executing several federal search and arrest warrants this morning, law enforcement seized several firearms.

The indictment charges the following defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 50 kilograms or more of marijuana:

Semei Cuevas Rodriguez, Sr., a/k/a “The Old Man,” 50, of Mexico

David Mendoza Dominguez, 51, of Abilene, Texas

Juan Alberto Devora, 39, of Abilene, Texas

Armando Carrillo, a/k/a “Pelon,” 30, of Abilene, Texas

Jason Carrillo, 34, of Abilene, Texas

Pedro Chavez, a/k/a “El Foco,” 40, of Abilene, Texas

Dewey Howard Hasty, 28, of Abilene, Texas

Devora is also charged with three substantive counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Carillo is also charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Chavez is also charged with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, each defendant faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, or more, and a fine of several million dollars.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.