A high-ranking leader of the Texas Mexican Mafia has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking ring, federal prosecutors said.
David Botello, 54, of San Antonio, was sentenced Aug. 14 by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of meth, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced.
Botello, who went by the nicknames “Torito,” “Bully” and “Bully-Man,” served as a “lieutenant of lieutenants” in the gang, overseeing meth distribution operations in the San Antonio area. Prosecutors said he was arrested in July 2020 after a traffic stop in which police found 150 grams of methamphetamine, nine new cellphones and cash.
A 2021 indictment charged Botello and 11 others with meth-related crimes and weapons offenses. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of meth distribution conspiracy.
Botello has previous convictions for murder and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, court records show.
“This sentence demonstrates our office’s commitment to dismantling dangerous criminal organizations that fuel violence and drug trafficking in our communities,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in a statement.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies, including the DEA, FBI, San Antonio police, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Botello was among several Texas Mexican Mafia members targeted in recent federal prosecutions aimed at weakening the gang’s grip on narcotics distribution in South Texas.