United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 45-year-old Kingsville man has been ordered to prison following his convictions of trafficking more than a kilogram of cocaine as well as being a felon in possession of both a firearm and ammunition, announced DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Will Glaspy, Houston Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. A federal jury convicted Elias Gonzalez Alvarez Aug. 10, 2017, following a one-day trial and approximately 40 minutes of deliberations.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey, who presided over the trial, handed Alvarez a 120-month sentence for his drug trafficking conviction and 108 months each for the felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition convictions. All of the sentences are to be served concurrently, followed by eight years of supervised release.

Authorities had learned that Alvarez had been engaged in trafficking cocaine and, on May 12, 2015, conducted surveillance on his apartment in Corpus Christi. Authorities stopped him for a traffic violation as he left his residence. His license was found to be suspended and Alavarez was arrested. At that time, authorities conducted a search of his vehicle and discovered a box with a bag inside that contained 1.01 kilograms of cocaine.

A search warrant was also executed on his residence where authorities found a .38 caliber handgun and ammunition. Alvarez is a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition per federal law. At trial, the jury also heard that Alvarez is a member of the Calaveras Outlaw motorcycle gang. Today, the court prohibited any further membership with any gang as a condition of his supervised release. Alavarez had attempted to convince the jury the drugs found in his vehicle and the gun and ammunition discovered in his apartment did not belong to him. They did not believe his claims and found him guilty as charged. Alvarez was taken into custody following the return of the verdicts in August where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Texas Department of Public Safety and the Corpus Christi Police Department conducted the investigation.