CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — A man from Mexico who was living in the United States illegally pleaded guilty to a federal drug crime in West Virginia.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 31 year-old Braulio Villa-Chairez, also known as “Raul” pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Quantity of Methamphetamine.
During the plea, Chairez admitted to helping other people distribute methamphetamine to West Virginia and other locations from March 2024 to around October 2024. He admitted to helping ship the drugs.
In one instance, in June 2024, Chairez shipped two separate packages to a person in West Virginia. These packages contained a total of 1.97 kilograms of methamphetamine that was referred to as “ice.” The packages were sent from the Houston area of Texas.
Later in July 2024, Chairez reportedly picked up a return package of $4,800 from the West Virginia-based customer. He then told a co-conspirator he received the money before sending in to a location in Washington State.
In August of 2024, Chairez also shipped a package filled with 963.8 grams of methamphetamine to Alabama. At a later date in October 2024, Chairez also reportedly helped someone deliver 5.905 grams of methamphetamine “ice” and 4.402 grams of another type of methamphetamine by car to a place in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
Chairez helped by providing the driver with directions to casino and a casino in the county.
In combination with his guilty plea, Braulio Villa-Chairez admitted to living illegally in the United States under the name “Jose Jesus Villa-Chairez”. He was also convicted of two crimes under that name.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2025. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison with a minimum of three years of supervised release. A $1 million is also looming.
Once sentencing is completed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will take custody of Chairez and begin the process of removing him from the United States.
These most recent court proceedings are part of a larger scale operation targeting large amounts of methamphetamine into West Virginia from Houston, Texas.
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