Pharr woman who earned theology degree in prison sentenced for cocaine trafficking

A Pharr woman was sentenced to prison on Tuesday after she admitted to trafficking cocaine from Hidalgo County to other states with her husband and others involved with the Texas Chicano Brotherhood.

Idalia Guzman, 47, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6, 2019, and was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas stated that the narcotics investigation began in 2017, which led to the discovery of a group of people planning to smuggle cocaine from Hidalgo County past the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint.

Investigators, through multiple discussions with cooperating sources, learned that Mario Edel Senteno was the main supplier of cocaine being spread to members of the Texas gang for distribution, according to a criminal complaint.

Those same sources indicated that Senteno conspired with three people, which included Rubina Pena Torres, Guzman and her husband Victor Del Toro, in order to transport and distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine.

Based on that information, investigators began physical surveillance on the group and on Sept. 25, 2017.

They located Torres sitting in a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze at the rest stop just two miles north of the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint. He later moved to a Whataburger parking lot.

The surveillance teams observed Senteno’s vehicle arrive at the parking lot where he, Del Toro and Guzman exited the vehicle and switched vehicles with Torres, the complaint said.

While Torres and Senteno drove south in Senteno’s vehicle, Guzman and Del Toro drove north in the Cruze, which prompted investigators to contact Premont police and requested assistance in stopping the car, according to the complaint.

Premont police managed to locate the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop on Del Toro, who was driving the Chevy Cruze, and Guzman for speeding.

During the roadside investigation, a consensual search of the vehicle conducted by Premont police resulted in the seizure of bulk cocaine in the passenger side area near to the bottom of the windshield and the wiper blade assembly.

“The bundle of cocaine was wrapped in black tape and weighed [1.48 pounds],” the complaint said.

Del Toro was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2019.

Guzman admitted to her involvement in the trafficking and acknowledged she had transported cocaine over 10 times in the same manner during her plea.

The court heard that Guzman received a theology degree while awaiting sentencing at the hearing, according to testimony from the prison ministries representative cited in a news release.

She remains in custody pending her transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility which will be determined in the near future.