Florence County, South Carolina — A Mexican national living illegally in the United States has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for his role in bringing fentanyl from Mexico to South Carolina, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Francisco Villa-Garcia, also known as Francisco Villa-Dominguez, Andres Busto, and Jesus Pineda Dominguez, 68, was involved in bringing more than 8 kilograms of fentanyl into the state, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. Evidence indicated that he arrived in the United States in or around 2022.
Prior to that, he was deported to Mexico in 2019 after serving 15 years in federal prison for a previous drug trafficking conviction in California, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. Once in the United States, he ordered two shipments of what appeared to be heroin but contained fentanyl.
The drugs, estimated to be worth $45,000 per kilogram, were intended to be delivered to co-conspirators in Kingstree, according to the US Attorney’s Office. When investigators learned about the plan, they set up a sting operation to catch the group as they were receiving the second shipment.
Villa-Garcia has prior convictions dating back to 1984 for cocaine possession, illegal reentry, driving under the influence, hit-and-run causing injury, extortion, and methamphetamine sale, according to the US Attorney’s Office. In addition, he was deported to Mexico in 2019 following 2005 federal convictions in the Central District of California for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry.
A judge in U.S. District Court in Florence sentenced Villa-Garcia to 97 months in federal prison for the new conviction, as well as a concurrent 51-month sentence for violating the terms of his release from his 2005 convictions.
He will be deported to Mexico after serving his sentences. Co-defendants Eriberto Navarro Lopez of Mexico City, Mexico, and Marone Lawatis Nesmith of Kingstree pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and are awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office in collaboration with the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer for News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis grew up in West Virginia and graduated from Marshall University in Huntington. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and read more of his work here.
