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Senior Reporter
Texas woman convicted after traffic stop on I-65 in Alabama turned up nearly 6 kilos of heroin
Melissa Vasquez-Guardado, 25, was found guilty Tuesday of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Another woman previously pleaded guilty.
www.al.com
Texas woman convicted after traffic stop on I-65 in Alabama turned up nearly 6 kilos of heroin
- Published: Mar. 15, 2023, 4:36 p.m.
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A federal jury in Alabama has convicted a Texas woman after she was found with nearly 6 kilograms of heroin during a traffic stop.
Melissa Vasquez-Guardado, 25, was found guilty Tuesday of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, according to a Wednesday announcement by Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.
Vasquez-Guardado was stopped July 27, 2021, by Butler County sheriff’s deputies on Interstate 65. She was one of three people inside the vehicle, including a 15-year-old girl.
Authorities said the driver had difficulty providing identification and said she did not have a driver’s license. Officers eventually identified the driver as Fidelia Barrera-Villanueva, 39.
Both women were from Houston, and the 15-year-old girl was Barrera-Villanueva’s daughter.
When stopped, testimony showed, the women said they were on their way from Texas to Atlanta.
Barrera-Villanueva gave officers permission to search the vehicle. During that search, officers saw a pillowcase underneath a box on the floorboard behind the front passenger seat.
Inside the pillowcase were six cylindrical objects wrapped in black tape containing what turned out to be a total of 5.9 kilograms of heroin.
Barrera-Villanueva previously pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute and could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. Vasquez-Guardado faces a 10-year sentence.
Sentencing for both women is set for July 6.
The DEA, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Covington County Sherriff’s Office, and the Greenville Police Department investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. attorneys Kevin P. Davidson, Justin L. Jones, and Mark E. Andreu are prosecuting the case.