Dallas Residents Sentenced for Cocaine Distribution and Possession Conspiracy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -, HECTOR OMAR SEGURA-LARA ("SEGURA-LARA") age 36, and JOSE ANTONIO ORTEGA-SILVA ("ORTEGA-SILVA"), age 33, both residents of Dallas, Texas, were sentenced by United States District Judge Susie E. Morgan on November 19, 2024, to 108 months imprisonment and 37 months imprisonment, respectively, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and, possess with intent to distribute, a quantity of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. ORTEGA-SILVA and SEGURA-LARA were also sentenced to 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

According to court documents, on August 25, 2021, near milepost 56 on Interstate 12, Louisiana, State Troopers stopped a Chrysler 200 occupied by SEGURA-LARA and ORTEGA-SILVA. When the vehicle's occupants provided contradictory answers to the troopers regarding their itinerary, the troopers conducted a consensual search of the vehicle. During the search, the troopers discovered four kilograms of cocaine in an additional car battery located under the hood.

Both SEGURA-LARA and ORTEGA-SILVA acknowledged that they were driving to Virginia to deliver drugs. ORTEGA-SILVA admitted that, at the request of another individual, he obtained the vehicle in Dallas and drove it to Houston where another individual loaded the vehicle with drugs. ORTEGA-SILVA and SEGURA-LARA were then instructed to drive to Virginia where the drugs would be offloaded and $152,000.00 in cash placed in the car's battery. ORTEGA-SILVA and SEGURA-LARA were to then return to Texas with the proceeds.

For the conspiracy count charged, ORTEGA-SILVA and SEGURA-LARA each face up to twenty years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, a mandatory minimum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit.