|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The sister-in-law of the former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who is accused of assisting his family in trafficking drugs through the Rio Grande Valley was sentenced Thursday morning.
Alondra Jacqueline De Leon appeared before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez who sentenced De Leon to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Her co-defendant and brother-in-law, Pablo Talavera Jr., is set to appear before Alvarez in late July for a final pretrial conference, according to court documents.
He is accused of conspiracy to distribute heroin and methamphetamine from Aug. 2019 through Sept. 2021.
Federal prosecutors also allege that he looked up vehicle registration information and escorted vehicles carrying drugs or cash while he was with DPS. Additionally, he worked during Gov. Greg Abbott’s ongoing Operation Lone Star initiative, which aims to crack down on drug and human smuggling.
Following the arrest of De Leon’s father-in-law and his brother, Pablo Talavera Sr. and Elias Talavera, she contacted a confidential human source on Aug. 19, 2021, to meet on Pablo Talavera Sr. behalf, according to the criminal complaint.
Under the direction of the FBI, the confidential source met with De Leon the following day who asked the money owed to Elias Talavera to be given to her.
On Sept. 2, 2021, both De Leon and source met somewhere in the Rio Grande Valley area where she explained that Pablo Talavera Sr. had been recently arrested and their residence had been raided.
“De Leon is aware of law enforcement tactics and warned the (confidential source) about changing cell phones and phone number,” the complaint said.
The confidential source explained to De Leon that she needed to know that this was a partial payment for heroin and methamphetamine which was purchased by Elias Talavera and De Leon acknowledged knowing about the illegal deals between Pablo Talavera Sr., Elias Talavera and the confidential source.
She explained that she had a ledger documenting all the payments collected between Pablo Talavera Sr. and Elias Talavera.
The confidential source handed De Leon $2,000 as a partial payment, the complaint said.
De Leon acknowledged that the confidential source still owed $28,000 for the heroin.
Then, on Sept. 16, 2021, the confidential source met with De Leon in a parking lot of an establishment in Pharr regarding another partial payment.
“The (confidential source) was instructed by FBI agents to pay De Leon $27,000 for the aforementioned illegal narcotics,” the complaint said.
Once De Leon arrived, the confidential source handed her $25,000 that was in a red bag wrapped in plastic and $2,000 in cash and then she advised CHS that they still owed her an additional $1,000 to complete the transaction before leaving in her vehicle.
Authorities then conducted a traffic stop on De Leon’s vehicle where she cooperated with agents who escorted her to the McAllen FBI Office where she agreed to provide a statement implicating herself.
