Esteban Garcia, 28, of Lubbock appeared in court Wednesday for a detention hearing. A judge decided Garcia could be allowed to bond out of jail until his trial date on a $100,000 bond and certain conditions.
On September 7 federal and officials from Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office raided Garcia’s home in the 8400 block of Wayne Avenue, a business in the 5000 block of 50th and another residence in the 6500 block of 92nd.
An official statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, “During this operation, investigators seized 61 pounds of narcotics, $38,000 cash, two vehicles, three boats, two motorcycles and one jet ski.”
Garcia will be released to the custody of his sister who lives in Southwest Lubbock. Garcia was ordered to not have any contact with his known codefendants, and he must seek regular employment. He will also be subject to an 11:00 pm curfew.
“He can go to work, he can go to the grocery store, he can go to church, he can go to the doctor. Other than that he’ll stay at his sister’s house, he’ll have a monitor on him. He’ll report every week to the office,” his attorney David Guinn explained.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Guinn said. “He has always lived on the South Plains.”
“No ties to Mexico,” Guinn added. “I think he’s been over there once or twice to have a beer, maybe. But that’s about it.”
Garcia’s case will be transferred to the federal court in El Paso. He was indicted by a grand jury in El Paso for a charge of Conspiracy to Possess a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute. The indictment said he possessed cocaine.
“Right now we are a little in the dark. He’s Defendant #10 in about a 20 defendant indictment. We’re left to guess who the other 19 are. We’re left to guess who that is,” Guinn said.
“We think this may involve some things from 3 or 4 years ago,” he explained. “We’re wanting to learn more. I know there was a Title III wiretap years ago in El Paso, and about a month ago he got a notice that one of his phone numbers was on that.”
Guinn said there was no indication Garcia was involved in cartel activity.
There are at least five other defendants in the case. However, it could be more because some of the court records have been sealed.