x

Judge mulls bond for reputed Starr County drug trafficker

3 years 11 months 3 weeks ago Thursday, April 02 2020 Apr 2, 2020 April 02, 2020 8:37 PM April 02, 2020 in News - Coronavirus Pandemic

A man accused of destroying U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration cameras appeared before a federal judge Thursday.

Jose Luis Garcia, 42, of Rio Grande City is accused of destroying DEA cameras. Prosecutors, though, say Jose Luis Garcia is a major player in a drug trafficking organization that involves his brother —  Juan Indalecio Garcia 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Profit asked U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker to order Jose Luis Garcia held without bond, concerned he would abscond to Mexico if released.

Attorney Ismael Rivera, who represents Jose Luis Garcia, asked the judge to set bond.

Rivera said his client’s 9-day-old daughter is hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Rivera also said that Jose Luis Garcia hasn’t been in trouble since 1999, when he was accused of a misdemeanor.

Profit, however, said it’s just a matter of time before a grand jury hands up an indictment against Garcia for more serious crimes. She said Jose Luis Garcia is a “danger to the community” and threatened to turn a federal agent into “soup,” a chilling threat that referenced how Mexican drug cartels dissolve the bodies of their victims in acid.

Rivera countered that Garcia didn’t flee to Mexico after federal agents raided his home, even though he knew they probably would arrest him.

Profit cast doubt on that assertation, saying the government found text messages between Jose Luis Garcia and his girlfriend, where he suggested moving to Mexico.

Hacker said he would review the arguments and make a decision soon. Profit asked Hacker to provide the government with notice, which would allow the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas to request a stay.

 

More News


Radar
7 Days