A Beaumont, Texas man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 420 months in prison for conspiracy to possess, with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Kevin Ritchie, 34, directed others to continue his drug distribution of cocaine and heroin in Eagle Pass, Texas on a weekly basis while he was incarcerated on federal charges. Ritchie is a lieutenant in the Partido Revolucionario Mexicano (PRM) gang, connected to the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels.
A search warrant granting access to a Facebook account revealed Ritchie orchestrated drug trafficking through social media DMs. Under Ritchie’s direction, the individuals deposited the proceeds to his prison commissary account. Ritchie was sentenced as a career offender due to his numerous other federal felony convictions.
“This defendant, associated with a large drug trafficking network, has proven his tendency to place personal profit above the law,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “His dedication to criminal activity while in confinement has led to another much lengthier 35 years in federal prison. My office will aggressively prosecute criminals who continue to support the illicit activities of cartels while incarcerated.” His sentence on his original charges would have been served by September 2025 when he was initially set to be released from federal prison.
Partido Revolucionario Mexicano (PRM) Gang
PRM is a prison-based gang with sets located throughout the United States. The gang was started by Mexican citizens incarcerated in Texas. Many who were deported returned illegally to operate on Texas streets, including in Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and San Antonio. The PRM gang has worked with Mexican drug cartels, such as the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, to import and distribute narcotics from Mexico into the United States. Texas has ranked the gang as Tier 2, alongside Sureño gangs, Crips, MS-13, and the Bandidos MC.
In 2021, 16 members of the PRM gang were arrested and federally charged with drug trafficking crimes. In Eagle Pass, Texas, the DEA along with the FBI, Marshal Service, Border Patrol, HSI, Customs Border Protection, DPS, and local agencies, executed a number of federal arrest warrants for members of the PRM gang, the Partido Revolucionario Mexicano gang,” says Dante Sorianello, the assistant special agent in charge of the DEA in the San Antonio district.
“This is the largest operation that we have run with our partners in the Eagle Pass area in the last five or six years,” says Sorianello.
In 2011, Gulf Cartel members recruited PRM gang members to get back tons of stolen marijuana in Texas. The cartel needed people who knew their way around Hidalgo County, where the pot was stolen and were familiar with local drug dealers. So they contracted members of Partido Revolucionario Mexicano, PRM.
The gang members made drug buys from people they believed had the cartel’s weed, then kidnapped and ordered them to reveal where their stash was. On their way to the stash house, Sheriff’s deputies stopped the gang members and a shootout left one deputy injured and a gang member dead.
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