15 charged in Brazoria County narcotics ring

HOUSTON – Several individuals are set to appear for detention hearings for their alleged roles in two large-scale conspiracies to distribute meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Those taken into custody include Clute residents Joseph Andre Luna, 40, Jacklyn Luna, 37, and David Allen Nunez, 37; Houston resident Eloy Tre Delarosa, 27; Juan Manuel Lara, 42, Angleton; James Wayne Andrews, 40, Bay City; Andrew Bryan Compian, 41, Wharton; and Luis Angel Rodriguez, 45, Lake Jackson. All are scheduled for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard W. Bennett at 9 a.m.

Co-conspirator Mary Alice Galindo, 48, Oyster Creek, is set to make an initial appearance Aug. 21, while Edward Villarreal Humphrey, 43, Oyster Creek, is in custody in another county and will appear in Houston in the near future.

Also charged are Irvin Lopez, 33, Clute, and Lake Jackson residents Monissa Shayla Najera, 35, Liliana Contreras, 35, Jordan Rodriguez, 18, and Robert Blake Partlow, 30, who have already made initial appearances.

The indictment, returned Aug. 7 and unsealed Aug. 8 upon the arrests, stems from a months-long investigation into narcotics distribution organizations working within Brazoria County.

All are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance with several facing substantive counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

If convicted of any of the charges, each faces up to life prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office, Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office, police departments in Houston and Aransas Pass, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals Service and San Patricio County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Hrach and Lisa M. Collins are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.