4 men sentenced to federal prison after man dies from drug overdose

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Four men have been convicted of drug trafficking, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Gabriel Ortiz, 31, McAllen residents, Francisco Ortiz, 53, Adbento Guerrero, 62, and Alonzo Rolando Garza, 42, Edinburg resident, pleaded guilty.

During an investigation in 2019 and 2020, four men were revealed to be trafficking cocaine in the McAllen and Edinburgh areas, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The men bought and sold multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and smaller quantities of crack cocaine.

In November 2020, Gabriel Ortiz sold approximately three grams of crack cocaine to a 53-year-old man, who later died after consuming the narcotic, the release states.

Throughout the investigation, authorities seized 22 pounds of cocaine and 115 pounds of crack cocaine, with an estimated street value of $260,000.

“Gabriel Ortiz and his co-conspirators, with their reckless and criminal behavior, directly caused the death of a human being,” said U.S. Attorney Almadar Hamdani.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Gabriel to 12 years in prison and Francisco to 10 years in federal prison.

“Guerrero and Garza have already been sentenced to 30 and 120 months, respectively,” Hamdani said.

The four men must also serve two five years of supervised release following their sentences, the release said.