A 31-year-old Mission man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after trafficking meth while out on bond on “multiple occasions,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Esteban Almentor-Lopez faced two separate charges of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of meth, and pleaded guilty March 1, 2021, and Dec. 20, 2022.

Almentor-Lopez was initially arrested following a November 2020 investigation into an organization intending to deliver meth from the Rio Grande Valley to Chicago, Illinois.

On two occasions in November 2020, Almentor-Lopez transported and delivered a total of 40 kilograms of meth in Mission, the news release stated, adding that he was arrested but granted bond pending further proceedings.

After pleading guilty in connection to that arrest in March 2021, authorities apprehended Almentor-Lopez as he attempted to deliver an additional 20 kilograms of meth on behalf of the same drug organization the following day.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Almentor-Lopez to serve 70 months in federal prison for the initial drug trafficking, as well as a consecutive 50 months for his subsequent conviction. 

Almentor-Lopez’s sentence will be immediately followed by four years of supervised release, the news release stated.

Almentor-Lopez will remain in federal custody pending his transfer to a prison facility.