DRUG PLOT RINGLEADER GETS 8 YEARS

A former cop tagged as a ringleader in a drug-trafficking scheme that
involved several San Antonio police officers was handed an eight-year
sentence Wednesday, earning a little leniency from the judge who could have
given him 10 years.

Upon his arrest last year, former police Officer Patrick Bowron called his
mom, then confessed to FBI agents. It was that contrite cooperation that
persuaded U.S. District Judge Edward C. Prado to give him a break.

Prado described Bowron's crime as a deviation from an "otherwise
law-abiding life" and said he would not waste time lecturing the former
patrolman.

"I think you understand what you did, what you risked and what you lost
beyond what I'm going to do today," Prado said.

Asked if he had anything to say before the judge passed sentence, Bowron
got out a few words before the tears trickled and anguish cracked his voice.

"I'd just like to say I'm sorry for everything I did to everybody involved:
my family, my wife, the citizens of San Antonio and my brothers and sisters
in blue a " I miss them very much," he said, sobbing.

In addition to the eight years, Bowron was fined $500.

The fourth defendant sentenced thus far for scheming to protect cocaine
shipments, Bowron walked into federal court having pleaded guilty to a
drug-trafficking charge that carried a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison