TAMPA – This was horrifying as drug cases progressed. It accused another dealer of stealing his business, a nopping conspiracy and torture with hot sauce.
The federal judge ended when Mario Espino, a prosecutor called the “victim of his ambition” to become “Pasco County’s number one drug dealer,” was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
However, during the 90-minute ruling hearing, Espino was quickly accused of his crimes and was frankly praised for helping prosecutors defeat other dealers who controlled the fentanyl and methamphetamine flows in areas north of Tampa. The government has searched for a prison for nearly 30 years. He could have gotten a life.
His ruling said the government was substantial support that Espino gave investigators, his gloomy childhood testimony and his leadership in a ruthless criminal enterprise.
“This isn’t just someone selling drugs on the horns,” U.S. Attorney Advisor David Sullivan told the court. “This is definitely a high-level trafficker we know and is extremely violent.”
However, US District Judge Mary Scriven observed that the government had made a deal with him.
The prosecutor responded with the aphorism, “You can’t cast a play in Angels and Hell.”
The judge said: “Every play you can cast doesn’t have to be cast.”
The prosecutor agreed. In this case, no further transactions will be made.
Invitation
Espino’s downfall began one morning almost two years ago. Pasco Sheriff’s deputies and federal drug enforcement agents were watching a small house with gravel and concrete front yards on a straight street called Eisenhower Drive during their holidays.
The officers descended on the lifted Dodge Durango SUV. Espino and two other men left and ran, but they didn’t go far. In the back seat of the SUV there was a man, his wrists and ankles tied with zip ties and his head covered with blue pillowcases.
His name was Gadiel Legger. He is described in court records as a fellow drug trafficker. Bad blood brewed when Espino learns that Legger is dealing with some of his clients.
Officers were talking the day before (October 21, 2023) after getting off the plane at Tampa International Airport. They told him that Espino was planning to lure him in and kill him. They learned a lot from the confidential informants who said Espino was going to keep leggers for ransom. Legger clearly ignored their warning.
Espino recruited two other men, Joey Young and Jacob’s guest, to help plot the lunatics, prosecutors said. Court documents explain that Espino seduces Leger to Tampa with the promise to pay the debt he owes.
The three men were waiting at Espino’s house when Legger showed up that night. After he walked inside, the young guest pulled a gun when Espino grabbed Legger’s neck from behind and robbed him to the floor. The three men used zip ties to bind Leger’s wrists and ankles. Court records show that they hit him with fists and guns on his face, chest and body. The heartbeat continued.
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Espino called the person identified as the “source” of legger in court records rather than as the name. He demanded 22 pounds of fentanyl in exchange for his release. He passed Leger’s phone and photographed a contact list looking for other drug suppliers, court records say.
The man dragged Legger into the garage of his house and placed him behind the Dodge charger. They covered his head with a t-shirt and his eyes with a sweat band, the court records. They drove somewhere and then headed home. Meanwhile, the be hit continued.
In the brawl, the man poured hot sauce into Legger’s eyes, and records the condition. Police reports say Espino removed legger’s pants and poured hot sauce over the rear edge.
While Legger was tortured, another man, Jacob Arjona, arrives in the minivan. He walked inside with a black suitcase holding 50 pounds of methamphetamine, court records say. He collected $113,100 in cash payments. While he was there, he saw Legger, tied up and bleeding, joined the beat bullet, and recorded condition.
After he left, officers stopped Arjona and found cash.
Back at home, the man put Legger in an SUV and drove him somewhere. When they returned, the officers were there.
Leger was hospitalized with numerous injuries, including cerebral hemorrhage. At Espino’s house, agents seized a large amount of females, fentanyl, and a backpack that held over $13,000.
fall out
Espino, 26, became the first defendant in a case that pleaded guilty and the first defendant to provide information to investigators. Young, Guest, and Arjona also eventually pleaded guilty to various crimes related to the temptation. Guest and Young were in prison for 20 and 25 years, respectively.
Espino helped agents identify several other drug dealers, prosecutors said. He became a key witness, especially to the two.
Marcus and Pierre Fowler were described in court as the top dealers in Pasco County. Marcus pleaded guilty to drug charges and won it in 24 years in prison. Pierre was found guilty at trial, and Espino testifies and awaits his sentence.
“They were the people that Espino went to most of his drug supply,” Sullivan said. “They’re the ones Mario Espino was trying to do that.”
Beyond his drug crimes, Espino is said to be responsible for at least four shootings in Pasco County. After his arrest, prosecutors said he saw a significant decline in violent crimes in Pasco County.
In court Wednesday, Espino was standing with her shoulders down and wearing an orange. A large tattoo of 19 US road signs marked the center of his neck.
He claimed it had changed. He told the judge that when he committed the crime he was both mentally and mentally broken. He sought education, a legal career and a chance of paternity.
Leger, 36, facing federal drug accusations unrelated to the Espino case, was not in court.
The judge asked: Why did he torture the man?
Espino explained that he accused Legger of losing some of his drug supplies. He also got mad when he found out that Legger was dealing with some of his biggest clients behind his back.
“I wasn’t going to kill him,” Espino said. “I planned to put a terror on him, but I went overboard.”
His older brother Dionicio Espino, a Marine Corps veteran and investment banker, read a lengthy statement detailing their troubled development.
He described their father as a violent criminal who was murdered in Mexico. Their mother suffered from mental illness and died of long-term effects of substance abuse, he said. He spoke about family life that was not stable. There, the children returned home from school and found their mother dead near a burnt spoon or an empty bottle of liquor.
Young Espino was in and out of the group’s house. He dropped out of school. His lack of education prevented him from chasing his brother into the army. With little other outlook, he turned to the drug trade.
“So many people have failed Mario,” his brother said.
Before Espino was led by the ex-s in the United States, the judge closed the courtroom, so he was able to visit alone with his baby daughter. It was the first time he had met her in person.
