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Street gang leader admits role in drug conspiracy

The one-time leader of a notorious street gang has pleaded guilty in a drug trafficking conspiracy out of south Texas.

Thursday, Sugar Land native Jeffrey Juarez, 35, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and ecstasy.

Juarez and 12 others in the February 2011 indictment were all members of the Tri City Bomber (TCB) gang, the US Attorney's Office says.

In 2008, Juarez made a deal: he and his gang would provide protection for loads of cocaine going through South Texas for money.  

What he didn't know: the FBI was in control of those cocaine shipments.  On video, he and other gang members were seen being paid for their "protection" services for each of the eight loads of cocaine shipped.

On the side, Juarez sold around 388 ecstasy pills to an FBI informant.

He will remain in custody until his sentencing on Dec. 18.  The minimum sentence for his charge is 10 years.  He could also pay a $4 million fine and five years of supervised release.

The US Attorney's Office says this about the TCB:

"The TCB gang was formed in the early 1980s in the Pharr, San Juan and Alamo areas of South Texas. An organized group with mandatory specific rules and regulations knows as ‘Las Reglas' to endure loyalty and participation of gang members in criminal activity, the TCB also has a decision making hierarchy including a person in charge in each city and persons holding positions within the organization including president, generals, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, soldiers and prospects. ‘Prospects' are those in the process of becoming TCB members. Non-members who do business with or perform work for the TCB are referred to as ‘associates'."