Mexican National to Serve Over 3 Years of Prison Time for Largest Marijuana Plantation in Willacy County

For running a marijuana plantation discovered last year in Willacy Country , a man was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars while his son awaits decision for the same case.

KRGV said Miguel Echevarria-Zuniga and his 22-year-old son Miguel Echevarria-Guizar initially faced "a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence" but this was lowered in an agreement with federal prosecutors. 

The Monitor reported that US District Judge Andrew Hanen handed the decision to the 51-year-old Echevarria-Zuniga, who pleaded guilty to manufacturing over 1,000 marijuana plants.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me," were the father's words when he appeared at the courtroom on Wednesday.

He claimed that he was already regretting his actions in being involved in growing the marijuana plants estimated to cost around $10 million.

The judge also ordered Echevarria-Zuniga for a three-year probation where he would undergo a program dedicated for substance abuse treatment.

In appealing his supposed life sentence, Echevarria-Zuniga said he still had two young children in Chiapas, Mexico whom he is still supporting.

In March last year, the father-and-son tandem were arrested in Lasara where a 2-acre field full of marijuana was discovered by authorities.

His son Echevarria-Guizar's sentence will not be known until Sept. 22.

Both men were traced through their fingerprints, which were taken from a battery of a flashlight and an insecticide container found near the pot plantation.

NBCDFW earlier reported that the two accused pleaded guilty in running the South Texan marijuana farm.

During the initial investigation of the case, Valley Morning Star reported that the two suspects were arrested along with 12 other undocumented immigrants who were reportedly illegally taken into the country by a certain Israel Santiago-Guzman. This was denied by the accused.

Santiago-Guzman reportedly led the authorities to the warehouse of the field where he claimed he was assaulted.

"Border patrol agents responded and found a stash house nearby, that was when a group of individuals ran out of the home and into an open field; it was in that field that agents discovered three acres of marijuana plants," reported Fox Rio.

More than a year after, a separate KRGV report said that the plantation had been cleared. Investigators pulled hundreds of the plants from the land where they were planted.

"We finally got rid of them. Bunch of tall grass and weeds but none of that illegal stuff anymore," said landowner Javier Davila.