PHARR, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Pharr man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after conspiring to sell narcotics to an undercover DEA agent at a McDonald’s, authorities said.
Paublo Rueben, 41, pleaded guilty to his charges July 27, 2022, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas.
According to the release, Rueben has an extensive criminal history and was on state probation for a narcotics charge at the time of this offense.
On Thursday, Rueben was ordered to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
In February 2022, an undercover agent met with Rueben and co-defendant, 46-year-old, Hector Vasquez Garcia, of Alamo, at a Corpus Christi McDonald’s. There they negotiated the purchase of six pounds of meth and four pounds of cocaine from a narcotics supplier located in Mexico.
After leaving the McDonald’s, the two were busted after law enforcement conducted traffic stops on the two vehicles. Authorities searched Ruben’s vehicle and located the meth and cocaine in a hidden compartment.
Rueben will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Garcia will remain in custody until he is sentenced March 29.