CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — 43-year old Lawrence James Espree has been sentenced to federal prison following his conviction for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Espree, who is a former resident of San Antonio, was convicted by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos, following a one day trial in October of 2019.
On Wednesday, "Judge Ramos ordered a spree to serve a total of 200 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release," stated authorities.
Judge Ramos heard testimony of Espree hiring a drug courier to transport drugs from Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio in February of 2017. Esprit hired a courier who was a passenger on a commercial bus as it approached the Border Patrol Checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas.
Authorities located approximately a kilogram of meth strapped to the courier's thighs as he sat on the bus.
According to police, after the courier was arrested, Espree fled the area and evaded arrest until 2019.
During the trial, investigators established evidence that Espree used his girlfriend's email account and his mother’s credit card to buy the courier's bus ticket.
Additional testimony describes Espree leading a narcotics operation in which he hired another courier in January of 2017. In that case, authorities also seized an additional kilogram of narcotics at the Border Patrol Checkpoint from the courier, who was a passenger on that bus.
During the trial, evidence was presented that Espree used various firearms and body armor during his narcotics trafficking.
Espree remains in custody and is pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and both couriers pled guilty to their roles in the offenses.
"The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service," added authorities.
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