A man tied to a big McAllen cocaine ring has skipped his own sentencing twice. Now a warrant is out for his arrest.

Angel Gracia is a defendant in case 7:23-cr-00613, USA v. Ochoa, et al. It is a multi-person cocaine case out of the McAllen federal court. U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton is over the case.

Gracia was charged in Count 4 of the case. Court papers say he helped sell 500 grams or more of cocaine. That charge can mean 5 to 40 years in federal prison.

A judge ordered Gracia's arrest on Nov. 14, 2023. Cops caught him six days later, on Nov. 20, in Mission. He sat in jail without bond for about a year and a half. On Jan. 8, 2025, he pleaded guilty to Count 4. He did not sign a plea deal. He pleaded guilty straight up.

After his guilty plea, the court let Gracia out on bond. He walked out of jail on May 1, 2025. His bond was $75,000. A woman named Lluvia Fanely Becerra paid $5,000 in cash for him. Court records show that payment. The file does not say how she is tied to Gracia.

Judges pushed his sentencing date back several times over the next year. Delays like that are common in federal court and do not, by themselves, mean anything went wrong.

Then Gracia stopped showing up. On June 3, 2026, he did not come to his own sentencing. Court records say his lawyer told the judge Gracia was unable to attend that day. The lawyer said Gracia would show up within 30 days. The judge reset sentencing for July 8, 2026.

El Tejano had a reporter in that courtroom on June 3. Per that reporter's account, Gracia's lawyer told the judge something more. Gracia was in Mexico, the lawyer said. He had no passport to get back into the country. The lawyer said Gracia wanted to be there. The prosecutor said there are ways to bring him back. Gracia just had to show up at a border crossing, the prosecutor said. Nobody explained on the record why Gracia was in Mexico. This detail comes only from El Tejano's own courtroom reporting. It is not in the court file.

Bond rules here usually keep defendants in the area. The rules also block trips into Mexico. Most defendants must hand over their passport too. If Gracia really was in Mexico, that alone could break his bond. That would be on top of just missing court. Federal law, under 18 U.S.C. Section 3146, also makes it a separate crime to skip court while out on bond.

Before the July 8 date ever came, the court reset things again. On July 1, 2026, a judge granted a sealed motion and moved sentencing to Aug. 5, 2026. Court records do not say why that motion was sealed or who filed it.

On Aug. 5, 2026, Gracia did not show up again. The court minute entry for that day is blunt. It says: "Defendant failed to appear for sentencing. Pretrial warrant was previously issued and remains active."

As of today, no new sentencing date is on the books. The warrant for Gracia's arrest is still active.

Gracia's story in this case is not just about being a defendant. Court records say he was also a robbery victim tied to the same case. On or about Oct. 26, 2022, two other men allegedly robbed him. They are Jose Guadalupe Orocio and Zeferino Pena-Perez. Court records say they are charged with taking about a kilogram of Gracia's cocaine at gunpoint. Both men face separate charges over that robbery in the same case. Neither has been convicted of it.

El Tejano laid out the full case back in June 2026. Read that investigation here: the original cocaine ring story.

For now, Gracia remains a wanted man. No one has said where he is. The court is still waiting to sentence him.