DEL RIO, Texas — A Beaumont man has been sentenced in a federal court to 35 years in prison after running a drug business while incarcerated on federal charges.
34-year-old Kevin Ritchie directed others to continue the distribution of cocaine and heroin in Eagle Pass, Texas on a weekly basis while incarcerated, according to a Western District of Texas United States Attorney's Office news release.
Ritchie was a lieutenant in the Partido Revolucionario Mexicano (PRM) gang, a prison-based gang with cells located throughout the United States, according to the release.
The release states that the PRM gang cooperates with Mexican drug cartels, such as the Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel, to import and distribute narcotics from Mexico into the U.S.
It was revealed that Ritchie orchestrated drug trafficking through social media correspondence when a search warrant granted access to a Facebook account.
Under his direction, the people working with Ritchie deposited the proceeds from the drug trafficking into his prison commissary account, according to the release.
Ritchie was sentenced as a career offender because of his other federal felony convictions.
“This defendant, associated with a large drug trafficking network, has proven his tendency to place personal profit above the law,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas in the release. “His dedication to criminal activity while in confinement has led to another much lengthier 35 years in federal prison. My office will aggressively prosecute criminals who continue to support the illicit activities of cartels while incarcerated.”
Multiple agencies investigated the case including The Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Maverick County Sheriff’s Office, El Paso Police Department and Texas Department of Public Safety.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Holly Pavlinski and Izaak Bruce.
