Texas Methamphetamine Trafficker Goes To Jail Had 15.7 Kilos Of Meth In His Gas Tank
LAREDO, Texas - Tim McCoy Barton, a 32-year-old Laredo man, was ordered today by visiting U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 15.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, announced DEA Special Agent-in-Charge of the Houston Division, Joseph M. Arabit, and Acting United States Attorney Abe Martinez. Mr. Barton pled guilty July 29, 2016. He was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
On May 3, 2016 Barton took part in a conspiracy to smuggle 15.7 kilograms of methamphetamine through the Interstate Highway 35 checkpoint located at mile-marker 29. Barton was driving a green 2009 Dodge Journey with Texas plates in which 16 PVC pipes containing 15.7 kilograms of methamphetamine were found in a compartment inside the gas tank.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Flores Jr. prosecuted the case.
