Laredo police officer sentenced to over 24 years in prison for drug trafficking

Laredo police officer sentenced to over 24 years in prison for drug trafficking

2011-04-12 04:09:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

LAREDO, TEXAS (BNO NEWS) -- A Laredo police officer on Monday was sentenced to over 24 years in prison after being convicted for drug trafficking firearms offenses, prosecutors informed.

Orlando Jesus Hale, 28, a member of Laredo Police Department (LPD), was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and possessing the firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

The law agent was sentenced to 235 months in prison for the drug trafficking offense and to a consecutive 60-month prison term for the firearms charges. Overall, Hale received a sentenced of 295 months in prison (24 years and a half).

Hale and LPD officer Pedro Martinez III conspired to escort vehicles loaded with cocaine through Laredo, Texas. The two defendants used their police radios to monitor LAPD dispatch traffic during the escort.

In addition, Hale and Martinez met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug dealer. Hale was carrying a gun during the meeting in which the defendants discussed details of the planned escorts.

On November 7, 2008, Hale and Martinez met with the agent in a Laredo hotel room. The two defendants agreed to escort loads of 20 kilograms each of cocaine from south to north Laredo using their personal vehicles.

On November 13, Martinez and then Hale each escorted a cocaine-loaded vehicle during the afternoon. They agreed to meet a person in san Antonio, Texas, to receive their payment on November 25.

Each defendant received $1,000 from another undercover agent posing as the organization's moneyman. Martinez pleaded guilty prior to the trial and testified against Hale on trial.

In addition to the lengthy prison term, Hale was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and sentenced to five years of supervised release.

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