They arrest a suspect of selling the cocaine that killed a musician from the Nueva Generación group (FOTOS)

• José Raquel Lerma, 31, was charged with the felony charge of criminal negligence homicide in Texas.
• Lerma allegedly sold the fentanyl-adulterated cocaine that overdosed on trombonist Sergio Sánchez for the Banda Sinaloense Nueva Generación de Chuy Hernández.
• The DEA and the FBI are already investigating the drug trafficking ring in McAllen in southeastern Texas as there are two musicians arrested for possession of controlled substances, a crime that is considered serious.

José Lerma was arrested and charged with

homicide for having sold the cocaine that overdosed a musician in McAllen, Texas.

Lerma, 31, faces a criminal negligence homicide charge charged by the McAllen Police Department (MPD), in Texas.

According to the arrest warrant against Lerma, consulted by MundoHispánico, the man sold cocaine mixed with fentanyl, an opioid similar to heroin, which caused the death of a musician who breathed in the dust.

Sergio Sánchez, 29, trombonist of the Sinaloan New Generation Band by Chuy Hernández collapsed in the dressing room of The Old Beer House club at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, 2020 in McAllen.

Three other musicians in the band also collapsed from a cocaine-containing fentanyl overdose and had to be rushed to a hospital for treatment.

However, the musicians Víctor Manuel Soto and Juan Eduardo Paredes were arrested for drug possession as soon as they left the hospital on Thursday, November 19, in Texas.

Paredes, 27, and Soto, 28, face charges of possession of controlled substances, a felony that warrants a minimum of two years in prison, and they are already being held in the prison of the Hidalgo County.

Another musician from the band, whose name authorities have not released, remains in the hospital in critical condition and recovering from a snorting overdose of cocaine and fentanyl mixed in powder.

In addition to the Anti-Drug Division of the MPD, the investigation against the two musicians and the man who sold them cocaine also involved agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA, for its acronym in English).

According to the arrest warrant against José Raquel Lerma, consulted by MundoHispánico in Texas, agents of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office They raided his home at 500 San Antonio Circle in the city of Alamo.

The HCSO SWAT agents were serving an arrest warrant issued by the MPD and with the assistance of the DEA agents against Lerma on the criminal negligence homicide charge.

Being surrounded outside his home by armed agents from various corporations, Lerma surrendered without incident. When he was arrested, they also found weapons in addition to doses of marijuana and cocaine ready for sale.

On the night of Friday, November 20, 2020, Lerma entered the Hidalgo County jail accused of a charge that, according to the Texas State Penal Code, carries a penalty of 5 to 20 years in prison for anyone found guilty of this crime after a trial.

In the investigation against José Raquel Lerma as the supplier of cocaine in southeastern Texas, it is detailed that federal agents have already joined the investigations. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, for its acronym in English).

With the investigation by DEA and FBI agents, Lerma could face more serious federal charges as the investigations are now focused on knowing who supplies him with the cocaine that he allegedly sells at retail.

In the records of the case it is detailed that the investigation into the death of the musician of the Banda Sinaloense Nueva Generación de Chuy Hernández continues open, so there could be more detainees.

Until the moment of writing this story, neither the businessman Chuy Hernández nor Gustavo ‘Tavito’ Guarneros, representative and musical director respectively, of the band, have given a statement about the arrest of the two musicians or the links with the alleged cocaine supplier.

José Raquel Lerma, who in the streets of southeast Texas calls himself ‘Pelón’, is an old acquaintance of the authorities in McAllen and other nearby cities.

According to Texas criminal records ‘Pelón’ has been detained in the Hidalgo County Jail on several occasions.

José ‘Pelón’ Lerma has faced charges for crimes such as illegal possession of a firearm, possession of drugs such as cocaine and marijuana with the intention of distribution, aggravated assault with a firearm and criminal organization.

The criminal career of ‘Pelón’ Lerma dates back to 2006, when he was arrested for the first time, and since then he has seen 10 arrests on his record. In his file it is specified that he is a confessed member of the Po Boys gang that operates in Texas cities such as McAllen, Brownsville, Edinburg and Corpus Christi.

Guarneros, musical director of the Banda Sinaloense Nueva Generación de Chuy Hernández, issued a statement in which he assured that the musicians were part of what he called an «unfortunate attack.»

«I report with deep pain and firmly condemn the attack on our group since the night of last (Friday) November 13 … in a bar in McAllen,» Guarneros details.

The musician explains that «while the band fulfilled their participation, they were victims of the evil that unfortunately exists in the world … they ingested a substance that was unknown until now.»

The band, in the voice of Guarneros, affirmed their need for «there to be more control of dangerous substances, we appreciate all the expressions of affection and support towards the group as well as their understanding that we cannot give more statements.» The group does not detail its relationship with José Lerma or the members’ cocaine use.

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