BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Prosecutors say a South Texas man who smuggled hundreds of pounds of marijuana in crates of heavy machinery must serve 18 years in federal prison after being on the run since 2013.
Rene Izaguirre (ee-zuh-GAIR’-ay) was sentenced Wednesday in Brownsville.
The 46-year-old Brownsville man in January 2013 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Prosecutors say he had a freight company contact and shipped drugs to Houston, Dallas and Pennsylvania.
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Authorities believe Izaguirre ditched his ankle monitor months after pleading guilty, fled to Mexico, then resurfaced last fall in West Texas. Prosecutors say Izaguirre, located in Odessa, worked as a roofer but also allegedly sold cocaine.
He was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in the original case plus nine years for failure to appear, served consecutively.
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