A Mexican national's bid to smuggle cocaine across the US border using car batteries as the hiding spot has landed him a 60-month stint in federal prison, officials said. Juan Andres Rodriguez-Murillo, 31, was sentenced Monday for his role in the conspiracy after a plea deal on November 1, where he admitted guilt to drug trafficking charges, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani's office.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos handed down Rodriguez-Murillo's sentence and he's also facing likely deportation after he serves time, coming to the United States from Mexico he'd conspired with others to hide narcotics in car batteries, the plot was foiled after one of the vehicles was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint and 2.8 kilograms of the drug were found. Mikeal Jovany Phillips and Christopher Sheffield, his co-conspirators, previously received sentences of 40 and 48 months respectively, followed by four years supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's statement detailed.
A gold SUV driven by Sheffield to a Sarita, Texas, checkpoint on January 6 led to the bust when authorities uncovered the cocaine disguised within the vehicle's battery compartment. The DEA and Border Patrol spearheaded the investigation, revealing a modified battery that concealed three bundles of cocaine and a smaller working battery for the vehicle's operation. Phillips and Sheffield had coordinated the criminal trip via numerous text and Facebook messages discussing their illicit plans.
In Brownsville, near the Mexico border, Sheffield met Rodriguez-Murillo who supplied the rigged car battery and even installed it into the SUV, revealed the prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Martin. Rodriguez-Murillo, now convicted, remains in custody as he awaits a transfer to a federal prison where he will serve his sentence, determined by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
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