Jose Manuel Mojica-Echeverria, a Mexican-born resident of Lafayette, was sentenced this week in federal court for his role in a failed 2010 attempt to traffic heroine and cocaine from Lafayette to Baton Rouge.
Jose Manuel Mojica-Echeverria, a Mexican-born resident of Lafayette, was sentenced this week in federal court for his role in a failed 2010 attempt to traffic heroine and cocaine from Lafayette to Baton Rouge.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley's office, Mojica-Echeverria, 27, pleaded guilty in December to one count of possession with intent to distribute and was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Richard T. Haik to two years in prison with three years of supervised release.
Mojica-Echeverria's arrest came on June 13, 2010, when he and Ramon Guadalupe Aldama-Rodriguez, who also was residing in Lafayette, were stopped en route to Baton Rouge.
According to Wednesday's release:
[Mojica-Echeverria] and [Aldama-Rodriguez] ... conspired with two residents of Abbeville, Jesus Silverio Cervantes and Joel Sotomayor Cervantes ... to drive a truck loaded with 2 kilograms of cocaine and 360 grams of heroin to Baton Rouge. Aldama-Rodriguez drove the truck, and Mojica-Echeverria rode with him, [Silverio Cervantes] and [Sotomayor Cervantes] followed in another vehicle. Authorities stopped the truck during a traffic stop.
In a prepared statement by Finley, she commented on Wednesday's sentencing, saying:
The successful prosecution of this case is a [of] result local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together with our prosecutors to bring drug traffickers to justice. These defendants' attempt to smuggle kilos of cocaine and heroin into the Acadiana region was foiled because of the hard work and dedication of the agencies involved and their commitment to keeping our community safe.
Mojica-Echeverria's arrest was the result of a joint-investigation headed by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which included assistance from the Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office and the Baton Rouge Police Department.