HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Harrisburg man was convicted by a jury of trafficking over 2,200 pounds of marijuana and hiring gunmen to protect his illegal activities.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between October 2018 and May 2020, Christopher Texidor, 36, and his codefendants operated a marijuana smuggling operation out of Fastlane Auto Sales, a used car lot located on Paxton Street in Harrisburg.
Texidor and his codefendants arranged to have a drug source in California mail hundreds of packages full of marijuana to Harrisburg through the mail. Through the same way, they mailed tens of thousands of dollars in cash back to the California source.
Texidor and his codefendants used a system of GPS tracking devices, which they placed in their parcels, to keep track of their drugs and money. Through this scheme, over 9,000 thousand pounds of suspected marijuana parcels, worth millions, were brought to the Harrisburg area.
Texidor and his codefendants used guns, robbery, and kidnapping as tools to keep their criminal operations running, according to Karam. At the trial, the jury heard evidence of the violence Texidor and his codefendants used to try and stop a thief from stealing their marijuana.
In late 2019, a thief reportedly began stealing their marijuana from parcels shipped to them. By using tracking devices in their parcels and attaching tracking devices to vehicles, they identified the person that they suspected was stealing their marijuana.
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Texidor and his codefendants then hired gunmen to stop the thefts.
From December 2019 to February 2020, the gunmen went after the suspected thief. In December the gunmen shot up a truck in Harrisburg connected to the suspected thief; they shot into an occupied home in Susquehanna Township where the suspected thief was sleeping; and they shot into an occupied home in Steelton that they guessed was connected to the suspected thief.
In February 2020, they robbed the suspected thief at gunpoint in Highspire.
The jury convicted Texidor of conspiracy to traffic more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, conspiracy to use a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, use of a means in interstate communication to commit a crime of violence and drug trafficking.
At this time, sentencing has not been scheduled. However, the maximum penalty under federal law is life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine.
Texidor’s codefendants, William Kuduk, Jonathan Cobaugh, Justin Laboy, Jose Laboy, and Julio Arellano have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Codefendant Jamie Valenzuela also pleaded guilty to being the marijuana source from California. He was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment.
