3 San Antonio residents sentenced to prison after meth found in car battery

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Three San Antonio residents were sentenced to federal prison for attempting to distribute 11 pounds of meth, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

On Jan. 5, 2022, 43-year-old Lucille Nicole Mendoza, 54-year-old Debra Ann Sauceda and 32-year-old Julian Santiago Espinoza Jr. pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

On May 31, 2020, the trio attempted to cross into the U.S. from the Pharr Port of Entry in a GMC Yukon, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

During the secondary inspection, authorities found 11 pounds of meth hidden in the car battery.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Mendoza and Espinoza to serve nearly six years in federal prison. Sauceda was sentenced to five years in prison.

Additionally, the trio is ordered to serve three years of supervised release.

All are pending a transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.