According to the indictment against Herera-Bear, 38, of Mission, and four others - Emily Julieta Gonzalez, 23, of Edinburgh, and Jorge Alberto De, 27, of Mission Leon, Ruben Artemio Villarreal Jr. And Israel Hernandez; Age and last known place of residence were not listed - the group conspired to import more than 5 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico.
The five men became involved in the plot after an incident in March, when nine kilograms of cocaine were found inside a Chevrolet Trailblazer belonging to Gonzalez's uncle.
Gonzalez entered the country from Mexico on March 18 aboard the Pioneer.
"After passing through the United States, surveillance video shows Gonzalez arriving at a business in Hidalgo - less than 30 minutes after entering the United States."
According to surveillance footage, less than ten minutes after the Trailblazers arrived, two other vehicles, including a white Volkswagen Beetle, also pulled into the parking lot. Both vehicles were parked in the vicinity of Trailblazer, and the occupants of the vehicles entered and exited Trailblazer, "according to court records.
Gonzalez claimed during questioning by law enforcement that the person in the video took her SUV without her consent.
An hour after the vehicle was stolen, Mission police officers, assisted by Gonzalez's uncle, located the abandoned SUV near Los Ebanos Road in Mission. Police took footage of a Chevrolet Malibu leaving the scene near the SUV when they arrived, the complaint said.
Gonzalez's uncle used a global positioning system to locate the vehicle and disabled it with a kill switch.
"(Gonzalez's uncle) testified that after activating the shut-off switch, several people got out of the car and got into other vehicles to flee the scene," the document reads.
Officers then found cocaine in the Trailblazer.
Eventually, a cooperating informant implicated De Leon (Herrera-Bear) in the carjacking.
CI told authorities that De Leon was riding in the Volkswagen Beetle used in the carjacking, and that Herera-Bear was the mastermind behind the planned carjacking and provided information about Gonzalez's Trailblazer and the drugs in the car.
Federal agents eventually executed search warrants at Herrera-Bear and De Leon's respective residences and gathered evidence that the two communicated about the carjacking.
"During a search of De Leon's phone, officers also found WhatsApp conversations with others, including contacts registered as" Chamoy, "who were identified as (Herrala-Bear) based on the cell phone number known to be used by Herrala-Bear." "During the review of WhatsApp conversations, officials found audio messages with Herrera-Bear on April 19, 2020, discussing the purchase of cell phone jammer that could be used to block the sending of GPS signal jammers or phones."
De Leon's phone also contained screenshots or photos of Hidalgo(police department) and McAllen's office (Homeland Security Investigations), where the trackers were allegedly sometimes located.
"Officials also found screenshots of The Monitor news story detailing the federal arrest of (Gonzalez) on De Leon's cell phone," the court filing said.
Based on the location of the cell towers found on their phones, De Leon and Herrera-Bear were in the vicinity of the carjacking and abandoned vehicle, respectively.
Villarreal and Hernandez allegedly played a role in the initial carjacking, according to the indictment, which was later redacted.
