Almost a year after their guilt was determined, two women charged as part of a criminal enterprise trafficking cocaine, heroin and meth through Southeast Texas have been sentenced for their crimes.
Tina Gilder, 40, of Houston, and Gina Moreno, 29, of San Benito, Texas, were both indicted by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, among assorted other infractions, on Jan. 8, 2020.
Gilder was convicted at trial on Feb. 24, 2022 and Moreno pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2022.
Jan. 17, Beaumont-based U.S. District Judge Crone sentenced Gilder to 121 months in federal prison and Moreno to 87 months in federal prison.
The women’s charges stem from police enforcement exacted in Port Arthur, each individually investigated following police encounters in 2019.
According to information presented in court, Gilder and Moreno were both part of a Houston-based conspiracy to traffic kilos of cocaine to the East Coast for distribution.
On Aug. 26, 2019, Gilder was stopped and found in possession of four kilograms of cocaine concealed in a hidden compartment in a Jeep. Moreno was stopped on Sep. 21, 2019, and found in possession of 22 kilograms of cocaine.
Drug Enforcement Administration intel lists street prices between $10,000 and $20,000 per kilo of cocaine, depending on the market.
As part of the joint efforts of the Port Arthur police and DEA, multiple individuals were indicted alongside the two women caught with bulk quantities of cocaine.
Limited information listed as to the original sealed indictment stemming from the Port Arthur drug busts lists among co-defendants as Tomas Calvillo, Manuel Villatoro, Christopher Castillo, Ramon Martinez, Justo Loredo, Rosa Espinosa de Excinia, Maria Camarillo, Julian Sanchez, and Alexis Villatoro.
Alexis Villatoro, of Houston, then 26, pleaded guilty on Jan. 12, 2021, to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison in August 2021 for a 2018 drug bust in Beaumont.
According to information presented in court, on Dec. 10, 2018, local law enforcement authorities conducted a traffic stop of Villatoro on Interstate-10 in Beaumont.
During the traffic stop, a police canine positively alerted to the presence of contraband. A subsequent probable cause search was conducted on the vehicle, during which $12,360 in cash was located in the rear hatch area.
Further investigation revealed the money was the proceeds of an illegal drug transaction. Villatoro was indicted by a federal grand jury for that charge on Oct. 7, 2020.
The effort that apprehended Gilder and Moreno et al is part of “Operation Guitar Hero,” according to the Department of Justice, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
“OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach,” the DOJ advises.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.