Jose Carlos "Charlie" Hinojosa, 31, of Roma - who now faces multiple counts of conspiracy, drug smuggling and money laundering in the ongoing case.

Sheriff Reymundo "Rey" Guerra has not been named in the 17-count indictment against more than 10 men and women accused of working with the Gulf Cartel.But a case file partially unsealed last week lists the warrant used to search his office among others described as "related" to the smuggling investigation.Federal authorities would not confirm Thursday whether the sheriff is expected to face any criminal charges in connection with the case or whether he is suspected of any wrongdoing at all.Guerra declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday afternoon.Agents executed a sealed search warrant on Guerra's Rio Grande City office on Sept. 4, taking boxes filled with documents, electronic equipment and photos.Investigators also seized a "gold-colored badge" from a safe under the sheriff's desk and an evidence bag filled with "a green leafy substance" from a drawer in the office, according to the federal receipt drawn up after the seizure.Two days earlier, authorities targeted a residence belonging to Jose Carlos "Charlie" Hinojosa, 31, of Roma - who now faces multiple counts of conspiracy, drug smuggling and money laundering in the ongoing case.Federal prosecutors allege Hinojosa and more than nine associates smuggled more than 2 tons of marijuana and 1,200 pounds of cocaine into the United States. Then, they reportedly helped move nearly half a million dollars in proceeds from narcotics sales back south across the border.Agents took several documents, stacks of cash wrapped in cellophane and magazines of ammunition during their search of Hinojosa's home, court documents state.He was arrested the same day as part of a nationwide sweep of men and women suspected of working with the Gulf Cartel, a Mexican drug trafficking organization that controls smuggling routes from Nuevo Laredo in the west to Matamoros in the east.
U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said during a news conference last week that 175 cartel members and associates - including Hinojosa and his alleged accomplices - had supplied drug markets in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, New York and even Italy.The 15-month investigation - dubbed "Project Reckoning" - involves several separate cases in federal courts across the country.
But nearly all feature links to the Rio Grande Valley because of its status as the Gulf Cartel's primary smuggling corridor, federal investigators said Thursday.
In all, more than 23 Valley residents have been indicted nationwide and several more people are expected to come under prosecutorial scrutiny as the names of several yet unnamed defendants are released.But it remains unclear whether Sheriff Guerra will be one of them.As Starr County's top law enforcement official, he polices a region with one of the highest rates of drug trafficking in the country.He succeeded Eugenio "Gene" Falcon as sheriff in 1998, after Falcon was charged with accepting bribes from a bail bondsman.