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A former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who worked during the Operation Lone Star initiative was sentenced to less than two years in federal prison Thursday afternoon for making false and fictitious statements regarding his father’s drug trafficking enterprise.
Pablo Talavera Jr. was charged by indictment in 2021 with conspiracy to distribute drugs, specifically heroin and methamphetamine, from Aug. 2019 through Sept. 2021.
However, in July, Talavera reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors and that charge was dismissed as part of the deal with Talavera instead pleading guilty to making a false, fraudulent or fictitious statement.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Talavera to one year and six months in federal prison, which is well above the sentencing guidelines of up to six months in prison, according to court records.
According to the initial criminal complaint, Talavera used his job to provide vehicle registration information to his father. He was also accused of escorting vehicles carrying narcotics or cash.
Talavera’s co-defendant, Alondra Jacqueline De Leon, is his sister-in-law.
She also reached an agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to money laundering. She was sentenced to two years in prison.
She had collected cash on behalf of the drug trafficking family and smuggled weapons into Mexico, according to the initial complaint.
Talavera is currently on bond and Alvarez ordered him to surrender to a federal prison when one is designated, court records indicate.
