McALLEN, Texas (NewsNation) — A former state trooper in Texas, who is accused of helping with his father’s drug trafficking organization, may plead guilty Monday, NewsNation affiliate ValleyCentral reports.
Pablo Talavera Jr., 35, of Pharr, initially agreed to plead guilty to making a false statement if prosecutors dropped the drug trafficking charge against him. Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker raised concerns about the deal.
According to prosecutors, the FBI spent around two years investigating a drug trafficking organization ran by Talavera’s father and uncle that allegedly shipped meth from Texas to Tennessee.
An informant told the FBI that Talavera’s father was kidnapped by a drug cartel in 2019 and members of the family, including Talavera, gathered to discuss the kidnapping.
A criminal complaint against Talavera says he “would have known” about his father’s “involvement in drug trafficking.” But Talavera claims he was not aware of that. Judge Hacker questioned whether Talavera’s statement was material or if it influenced the FBI’s investigation.
“How did that influence the FBI in a way that it was a material misrepresentation?” Hacker said, according to ValleyCentral. “In essence, if they know his father’s involved in drug trafficking, the fact that he denies it — did it cause them to stop investigating? Did it cause them to alter it in any way?”
Prosecutors pointed out that Talavera was a state trooper at the time of the “Talavera DTO” probe. In 2021, Talavera’s father, uncle and sister-in-law were arrested. ValleyCentral reports that his father and sister-in-law pleaded guilty, while his uncle pleaded not guilty.
As Hacker reviews the case, a follow-up hearing is slated for Monday.
ValleyCentral contributed to this report.