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SAN ANTONIO (AP) —
Nearly 600 of the more than 5,500 federal inmates serving sentences for drug crimes and scheduled for early release from prison next month are in Texas, which is the most of any state.
The release is part of a cost-cutting measure intended to reduce the nation's huge prison population.
U.S. officials estimate that more prisoners sentenced in the federal judiciary's Western District of Texas are set for early release than any other region in the country, the San Antonio Express-News reported, citing figures provided by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Texas judicial districts likely have so many offenders affected by the new guidelines because of the large number of low-level drug smugglers caught at the border, said San Antonio defense attorney John Convery, who is a former federal prosecutor.
The changes don't apply to violent offenders or those who have led smuggling rings or criminal groups, Convery said.
"It's a general recognition that the guidelines were inviting judges to sentence people too harshly," Convery told the newspaper.
The inmates set to go free in November are among the first of what could eventually be tens of thousands eligible for release.The Sentencing Commission voted last year to retroactively apply substantially lower recommended sentences for those convicted of drug-related felonies.
The commission, an independent panel that sets federal sentencing policy, estimated that the prison terms would be cut by an average of 25 months.
Under the program, a judge reviews each prisoner's case to decide if his or her release would jeopardize public safety. Most of those eligible for consideration have already served 10 years or more.
The changes are part of a national bipartisan effort to rethink decades-long sentences for drug offenders, who make up roughly half of the federal prison population.
HOUSTON (AP) —
A student was killed and another person was wounded in a shooting outside a Texas Southern University student-housing complex on Friday, and police have detained at least two people, authorities said.
The university quickly went on lockdown after the shooting was reported around 11:30 a.m. in a parking lot at the University Courtyard Apartments, a university-owned student apartment building on the edge of the Houston campus.
Police have detained two people and are searching for a third for questioning, but there is no active shooting investigation, police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. She said police still don't have a motive in the case.
University President John Rudley said the school, which has about 9,700 students, is no longer on lockdown. But he criticized what he said was a culture among students who believe they shouldn't snitch on each other.
"We're in the inner city. Crime is all around us. Our students have to be more vigilant," he said during a press conference Friday afternoon.
Rudley said the student who was killed was a freshman at the school, though the student's name and age haven't been released. Silva said the second victim, whose name also hasn't been released, was shot twice and is hospitalized in stable condition.
The incident occurred just hours after another shooting near the same housing complex. It's unclear whether the shootings were related.
"My main concern is what they're going to do now," said Daijsa Fowls, a 19-year-old pharmacy student from Houston. "There's no enforcement. There's no way that outsiders should be allowed in a person's dorm room. I'm supposed to be moving on campus and it shakes me up."
Fowls noted that she had a 3-year-old son, and said she wouldn't feel safe walking with him on campus.
"A bullet has no name," she said. "It could hit anybody."
Brittney Solomon, 19-year-old psychology student, added: "It's really nerve-racking feeling that a person here could have a gun."
The university said in a statement that earlier shooting occurred early Friday morning, and that the school was increasing police presence on campus. Details about the earlier shooting weren't immediately available.
Classes were cancelled following the second shooting. Rudley said classes would resume on a normal schedule Monday.
The incidents follow a fatal shooting earlier Friday at Northern Arizona University, where an overnight confrontation between students escalated into gunfire that killed one person and wounded three others. Last week, eight students and a teacher were fatally shot at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. The gunman in the Oregon shooting also wounded nine people before turning the gun on himself.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas –
A former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer from Brownsville has been sentenced for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jose Luis Zavala, 38, pleaded guilty March 3, 2015.
Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered he serve 78 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay a $7,500 fine.
Zavala had been employed for eight years as a CBP officer assigned to the Brownsville field of operations.
At the time of his guilty plea, Zavala admitted he allowed vehicles loaded with marijuana to enter the United States from Mexico in exchange for money. On Nov. 19, 2014, Zavala was working the Gateway Port of Entry when a van attempted to enter the United States through the inspection lane manned by Zavala. The driver presented a U.S. Passport and the van was randomly selected for an intensive inspection, a decision not made or controlled by Zavala. The driver then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot to Mexico. The van was carrying 1362 Kilograms of marijuana that was not hidden or disguised as legitimate cargo. Zavala had entered into an agreement with co-conspirators and intended to allow the vehicle and marijuana into the United States.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The charges were the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Hagen is prosecuting the case.