SAN ANTONIO – A man identified as a ranking member of the Texas Mexican Mafia will spend more than 20 years in federal prison after being sentenced for drug trafficking and firearm offenses.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors said David Cortez Jr., known as \u201cTazmanian\u201d and \u201cTaz,\u201d is 35 years old and served as a sergeant in the gang. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated Cortez and caught him discussing plans to collect drug money that would fund a multi-kilogram methamphetamine purchase. Law enforcement seized the drugs before they entered San Antonio neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Officers arrested Cortez in October 2020 and found heroin and a loaded handgun on him. A federal indictment in September 2020 named Cortez along with 11 others. Prosecutors said all but one co-defendant in this case have since been sentenced and the last scheduled sentencing is set for Dec. 10. Prosecutors added that the gang\u2019s “free world” General, Donald Trevino, received a 300-month federal prison term in October 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a ranking officer in one of the most notorious gangs in San Antonio, David Cortez Jr. and his many co-conspirators flooded our community with narcotics,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. \u201cI extend my gratitude to the DEA along with the FBI and our partners at the San Antonio Police Department for their efforts in safeguarding our community and protecting Americans. This office remains committed to dismantling the violent criminal organizations that interfere with our God given rights to live our lives, enjoy liberty and pursue happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Special Agent in Charge Miguel C. Madrigal of the DEA\u2019s San Antonio Division said agents disrupted the organization\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough aggressive and proactive investigative collaborations, DEA San Antonio Division saved lives by staying one step ahead of David Cortez Jr., dismantling his efforts to profit from the destruction of our communities,\u201d Madrigal said. \u201cHis criminal enterprise has been brought to a halt and he will now face the consequences of his actions for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
FBI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Daniel Faith said partnerships helped with the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI is committed to keeping dangerous, illegal drugs out of the communities we serve,\u201d said Faith. \u201cThis considerable sentencing puts those who would seek to harm others for their own gain on notice that justice will find you. Cortez will no longer pose a threat to the citizens of San Antonio because of our strong partnerships with DEA, SAPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.\u201d<\/p>\n
The DEA, FBI and San Antonio Police Department investigated the case, which is part of Operation Take Back America. Prosecutors said the initiative uses the Department of Justice\u2019s full resources to fight cartels and transnational criminal organizations and to protect communities from violent crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO – A man identified as a ranking member of the Texas Mexican Mafia will spend more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-473804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}