Villalpando sentenced to 20 yrs in drug case
A 22-year-old Olney man pled guilty to a drug trafficking charge and was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on June 6 in a case that law enforcement officials hoped has sent a message to entrenched drug dealers and users in the area.
Felisiano Ray Villalpando was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his co-defendant, Homero Beltran-Delino Jr., that was stopped by the Young County Sheriff ’s Office for a traffic violation on Sept. 14, 2022, at the intersection of State Highways 114 and 79, Olney Police Sgt. Dustin Hudson said.
The deputy searched the vehicle and recovered methamphetamine. Both Mr. Villalpando and Mr. Beltran-Delino were arrested and charged, according to a statement by District Attorney Dee Peavy. Mr. Villalpando pleaded guilty to a single felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, four grams or more but less than 200 grams, the statement said. Mr. Beltran-Delino’s case also is pending in the 90th Judicial District.
“The severity of the punishment is directly related to the serious nature of the offense,” Mrs. Peavy said. “This defendant was in possession of a large quantity of methamphetamines along with items used for packaging and distributing illegal narcotics. Those involved in drug trafficking deserve much harsher punishments for the untold damage they inflict on our communities. Further, distributors and dealers of illegal narcotics should have to pay for all of the pain that they have inflicted on the children and other family members of those that have succumbed to addiction due to their drug peddling.”
Mr. Villalpando has an arrest record dating from 2018 for offenses that escalated from lottery fraud to aggravated sexual assault of a child, Young County Jail records show. Olney police also have had recent run-ins with Mr. Villalpando’s grandfather and father.
On April 18, Olney police and Texas Department of Public Safety officers raided a home on West Elm Street with flash-bang grenades and tear gas to try to flush Felisiano “Felix” Villalpando III out following his alleged assault on an elderly or disabled person during a burglary attempt in Olney. He eluded police but was arrested 10 days later at the Western Height apartment after police asked for the public’s help in locating him. Mr. Villalpando III, who also has an extensive arrest record and was considered “armed and dangerous” by police, is in Young County Jail in lieu of $175,000 bond.
On April 19, Felix Villalpando - father of Mr. Villalpando III was booked into Young County Jail on [charges TK].
Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck hailed the lengthy sentence as another step toward incarcerating repeat offenders who account for a disproportionate number of crimes in Olney.
“It’s a different town than it was three years ago. We are aggressively prosecuting criminals in Olney,” he said. “I think we have finally turned a corner. This is the first year that we are not at 500 cases – we have not made 300 yet. All these people we have put in prison, all these dope houses that are empty with weeds growing up around them; it is finally resonating with people that we are not scared of you and we are going to do our job and put people in prison.”