Press Release
☷Another Texan Sentenced for Dealing Drugs on Behalf of Texas Mexikan Mafia
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
May 04,2022
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Another Texan sentenced for dealing drugs on behalf of Texas “Mexikan” Mafia CORPUS CHRISTI , Texas – A 29 - year - old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a large drug conspiracy involving heroin , cocaine , crack cocaine and meth , announced U . S . Attorney Jennifer B . Lowery . Joe Daniel Davila pleaded guilty July 23 , 2021 . Today , U . S . District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered Davila to serve 120 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release . At the hearing , the court heard additional evidence that detailed Davila’s role as a distributor of narcotics at various drug houses located within Corpus Christi and Robstown . Davila was selling the narcotics at drug premises aka “trap houses” which the Texas “Mexikan” Mafia ( TMM ) operated . Many of these homes were equipped with electronic security systems and had doors reinforced with braces to make possible law enforcement entry difficult . Authorities also found firearms in some of these “trap houses . ” Davila would oversee the selling of drugs at some of these houses and make sure the profits of the sales would go to the leadership of TMM . The investigation began in Robstown in 2015 . Law enforcement was eventually able to discover the TMM was operating these houses in both Robstown and Corpus Christi and maintaining the premises as one of their sources of income . The TMM has a constitution that governs the enterprise which states that 10% percent of the profits from any member’s business or interest shall be contributed to the organization . TMM collects this fee , referred to as “the dime , ” from members , prospective members and sympathizers . These individuals also earn their income by trafficking in illegal drugs on their own which TMM then distributes – to include heroin , meth and cocaine . Nine others have been convicted as part of the overall conspiracy . Robert Martinez Hinojosa , 63 , Alice; and Matthew John Sayles , 42 , Raul Benavides , 48 , Juan Lebrado Pena , 31 , and Gilberto Saldana Jr . , 41 , all of Corpus Christi , pleaded guilty to violating the Racketeer Influence Corrupt Organization ( RICO ) statute . Hinojosa received 268 months , while Sayles , Benavides , Pena and Saldana received respective sentences of 90 , 108 , 210 and 271 months . Four others were convicted of conspiring to distribute narcotics - Sergio Pena , 26 , Danny Ray Martinez , 32 , and Serenity McCracken , 44 , all of Corpus Christi; and Raul Valdez , 47 , San Antonio . Pena and Martinez each received 120 month - prison terms , while McCracken is serving 36 months . Valdez is pending sentencing . All have been and remain in custody . Davila is pending transfer to a U . S . Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future . Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives; U . S Marshals Service; IRS - Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces ( OCDETF ) operation known as Operation Charco Trece . Also providing assistance were sheriff’s offices in Nueces and Victoria Counties and police departments in Corpus Christi , Ingleside , Aransas Pass , Robstown and Portland . Assistant U . S . Attorneys Brittany L . Jensen and Michael Hess prosecuted the case . OCDETF identifies , disrupts and dismantles the highest - level drug traffickers , money launderers , gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor - led , intelligence - driven , multi - agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal , state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks . Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage .
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