Amarillo Meth Dealer Gets 14 Years

AMARILLO, Texas – Juan Daniel Mares, 40, is headed to federal prison for a substantial stretch after being sentenced to 168 months – 14 years – for dealing methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater handed down the sentence this morning, effectively removing a significant player from the streets of the Texas panhandle.

The case, brought by U.S. Attorney John Parker for the Northern District of Texas, stemmed from a September 13, 2016, arrest. Mares initially pleaded guilty in January 2017 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, a charge that carries a hefty mandatory minimum. He’s been cooling his heels in custody ever since, awaiting this outcome.

The deal went down not in some shadowy back alley, but in the brightly lit parking lot of a Walmart in Canton, Texas on September 10, 2015. According to court documents, Mares willingly met with an undercover Texas Department of Public Safety agent, intending to finalize a transaction. He wasn’t selling small amounts; Mares agreed to sell a full pound of the highly addictive drug.

The exchange was chillingly straightforward. Mares hopped into the agent’s vehicle and handed over a shoebox packed with 446 grams of methamphetamine – a considerable quantity. In return, he received $6,100 in cash. A simple transaction, a blatant crime, and now, a long prison sentence. This wasn’t a desperate act of someone struggling to survive; it was calculated distribution, pure and simple.

This wasn’t a solo operation, though Mares will bear the primary burden of the sentence. A multi-agency task force brought him down, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and local law enforcement from the Amarillo, Potter County, and Randall County departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Frausto and Sean Taylor secured the conviction and sentencing.

The sentence sends a clear message: large-scale methamphetamine distribution won’t be tolerated in North Texas. While Mares’s time on the streets is over, the fight against the drug epidemic continues. The Grimy Times will continue to report on the individuals fueling this crisis and the law enforcement efforts to dismantle their operations.

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