Convicted Drug Dealer Sent Back to Prison After Assaulting Domestic Partner

A convicted drug dealer who violated the terms of his supervised release by brutally beating a domestic partner has been sent back to prison for 10 years, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jose Negron-Cardona, 49, was convicted in 2008 in the District of Puerto Rico of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics and brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. A U.S. District Judge in Puerto Rico sentenced him to a total of 211 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Federal offenders are often subject to a period of post-conviction supervision that can include various conditions, from abstaining from illicit drug use to meeting with a probation officer. Mr. Cardona's conditions included a prohibition against violating federal, state, or local laws.

After serving time in federal prison, Mr. Cardona was released and began his supervised release on May 27, 2020.

On June 5, 2024, while living in Grand Prairie, Mr. Cardona viciously assaulted a domestic partner.

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Shortly after the assault, U.S. Probation Office filed a petition to revoke his supervised release. At a hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors argued that Mr. Cardona should be sent back to prison, calling the victim to the stand to testify.

The victim testified that Mr. Cardona viciously assaulted her, prevented her from calling 911, and repeatedly struck her in the face until she lost consciousness.

U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade found by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Cardona had committed assault/family violence - a state offense that violated his conditions of supervision - and revoked his supervised release, sentencing Mr. Cardona to an additional 10 years in federal prison (five years per count, to run consecutively).

"If this defendant thought he could savagely beat a woman without repercussion, he was sorely mistaken. While we take all violations of supervised release seriously, we are especially concerned by instances of domestic violence. For the next decade, his victim will be able to sleep soundly at night knowing he is once again behind bars," said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.

The Grand Prairie Police Department conducted the investigation into the assault. The United States Probation Office provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Winters and Ted Hocter argued for revocation and imprisonment.