Former Sullivan City police chief sentenced to 10 years in prison
To see who else was sentenced at Wednesday's hearing, scroll to the end of the story.
McALLEN — Sullivan City’s former police chief received a 10-year prison sentence for his role in a drug trafficking ring busted by federal authorities last year.
Hernan Guerra Jr. and seven other men learned their sentences at a hearing Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in McAllen.
Guerra’s sentence came after he pleaded guilty for his role safeguarding Mexican drug traffickers moving more than 2 tons of marijuana through Sullivan City.
FBI agents arrested Guerra, 45, last June at the Sullivan City Police Department. At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, it was revealed that investigators had used wire taps to gather evidence on Guerra and others involved in the conspiracy.
“I am sorry for what I did,” Guerra told U.S. District Judge Randy Crane at his sentencing hearing.
“When you do something like this, you cause people to lose confidence in our government,” the judge told Guerra.
Crane revealed that federal investigators had tapped Guerra’s phone lines, during which he “seemed to scoff” at the idea of getting arrested for his role in the trafficking scheme.
“I remember being appalled at some of the things you were saying on the wire taps,” Crane said.
Guerra faced a minimum 7-year, 4-month prison sentence for his role in the drug conspiracy. But because he was a police chief who betrayed his department, Crane upped the sentence to 10 years in prison with four years of probation.
“I believe Mr. Guerra’s conduct in this case — really with flagrant disregard to his oath as a public servant, a police chief, aligning himself with drug trafficking organizations in our communities — it causes the community to lose confidence in government organizations,” Crane said.
Clad in an untucked, short-sleeve, green button-down shirt and blue jeans, Guerra appeared emotional as deputy U.S. Marshals escorted him from the courtroom.
Guerra’s sentencing marks the latest fall from grace by a Rio Grande Valley law enforcement head who had succumbed to the influence of Mexican drug cartels.
The wire taps on the former Sullivan City chief were similar to those on former Starr County Sheriff Reymundo “Rey” Guerra, who was sentenced in 2009 to more than five years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.
The former Sullivan City police chief was the most prominent person locally taken down in what federal authorities dubbed "Project Deliverance," a nationwide sweep that arrested nearly 430 individuals in 16 states in June 2010.
The operation targeted Mexican drug cartel cells operating throughout the United States, including the Gulf, Zetas and Beltran-Leyva drug cartels.
Already sentenced locally as part of Project Deliverance were former McAllen real estate developer Marin Herrera, 57, who received a 20-year prison sentence and Sullivan City resident Omar Alvarez, 38, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February.
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Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4439.
PROJECT DELIVERANCE
Sentenced at Wednesday's hearing were:
>> Hernan Guerra Jr., former police chief in Sullivan City, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and four years of probation
>> Juan Carlos “Cali” Escalera, a Mexican national sentenced to five years in prison
>> Michael Montelongo, a U.S. citizen sentenced to five years in prison and four years of probation
>> Renato Villalon, a U.S. citizen with an extensive criminal history sentenced to 12 years, 7 months in prison and five years of probation
>> Javier Francisco “Tripa” Peña Treviño, a Mexican national sentenced to 3 years 1 month in prison
>> Angel Gilberto Martinez, a U.S. citizen sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison and three years of probation
>> Noe “Molonco” Salinas, a Mexican national sentenced to 6 years, 6 months in prison
>> Felix Gallardo Noyola, a Mexican national sentenced to 6 years, 8 months in prison
