United States

Man Gets 20 Years in Southlake Drug Cartel Murder

Two others in case to be sentenced next month

A man who pleaded guilty in the 2013 murder of a one-time drug cartel leader in Southlake was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.

Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Campano received his sentence from U.S. District Judge Terry Means in Fort Worth.

Ledezma-Campano, 32, agreed to testify against his father and his father’s cousin, who were convicted earlier this year. Their sentencing is set for Sept. 22.

Prosecutors portrayed the three as an intelligence squad for a Mexican drug cartel which tracked Juan Guerrero Chapa in Southlake using sophisticated surveillance techniques, including GPS trackers and remote cameras.

Guerrero, a former top lawyer for imprisoned Gulf Cartel boss Osiel Cardenas who become a U.S. government informant, was gunned down in 2013 on the Southlake town square, where he had gone shopping with his wife.

The three were not charged with the actual murder and instead were accused of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Prosecutors identified the hitmen by their nicknames "Clorox" and "Captain."

The two and the cartel leader who is said to have ordered the hit -- Jose Rodolfo Villarreal Hernandez, also known as "El Gato" -- are believed to be in Mexico.

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