Description: Corpus Christi, Texas criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Raul Cedillo Jr. pleaded guilty Jan. 3, 2022, to possession of meth with intent to distribute and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Cedillo to serve 154 months in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

The investigation began after law enforcement saw several posts on his personal Facebook page appeared to be advertising various controlled substances for sale, complete with photographs of Cedillo’s “inventory.” The posts included prices for meth by quantity, such as “"$55 balls, $80 qrtrs, $ 150 half, $275 ounce."

The Facebook posts led to the September 2021 search of Cedillo’s apartment where law enforcement seized approximately three kilograms of meth, 1.3 kilograms of pills, six firearms and a large amount of U.S. currency.

Cedillo will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Corpus Christi Police Department conducted this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Jensen prosecuted the case.

CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE NARCOTICS
(1)

VIOLENT CRIME/DRUGS/MACHINE GUN
(3)

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 96 mos custody BOP; 5 years SRT; standard condition of supervision; substance abuse treatment and testing; gang prohibition; $100 special assessment.

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Defendant's Experts:

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