Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Federal Jury Convicts Dallas County Man on Drug and Firearm Offenses
DALLAS — Following a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis, a federal jury has convicted Victor Chapa, 32, of Irving, Texas, on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney R. Saldana.
Chapa’s five co-defendants have pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. Chapa faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years and a maximum of forty years in prison on the conspiracy conviction and a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of life in prison on the firearm conviction, which must be consecutive to the conspiracy conviction. A sentencing date was not set.
The government presented evidence at trial that the conspirators used a residence and outbuilding containing an apartment on Harlan Street in Irving to store, repackage for distribution and distribute quantities of marijuana. When a search warrant was executed at the site, officers recovered handwritten notes on spiral notebooks and on loose pieces of paper that reflected marijuana sales, identified customers and noted amounts of money owed for marijuana, along with firearms in the main residence. In the detached apartment, law enforcement located wrappings, also known as marijuana “skins,” that previously contained approximately 528 pounds of marijuana, loose marijuana on the floor, cellophane wrapping, zip lock bags, digital scales, several loaded firearms and additional ammunition.
The North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and the Irving, Fort Worth and Dallas Police Departments investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters prosecuted.
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