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2 found guilty of stalking killed cartel lawyer

Two men who helped arrange the brazen killing of a Southlake cartel lawyer were convicted Friday afternoon of interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit murder.

FORT WORTH -- Over the past two weeks, inside a federal courthouse in Fort Worth where cameras aren't allowed, a trial played out that even seasoned attorneys say was like a movie.

"Involved two countries, involved drug cartels, narco-terrorists, danger beyond imagination," said defense attorney Wes Ball.

It was the trial for Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda and Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes, both now convicted of stalking Southlake cartel lawyer and government informant Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa.

Chapa was eventually shot to death in 2013 in a very public parking lot at the Southlake Town Center.

"It's real life and it happens in U.S.," said defense attorney Warren St. John. "The drug cartel's in the Metroplex."

Both St. John and Ball represented Ledezma-Cepeda, who they say was a talented private investigator who was ordered by the cartel to come to Southlake and track down Chapa.

"He was told in a tire shop in Monterrey, Mexico," Ball said. "Hanging on the wall was a chainsaw with blood on it. And the last time I cut down a tree with a chainsaw, it did not bleed."

Ball says their client knew the stalking would likely lead to Chapa's death, but that he had no choice.

"He was basically forced to do that, because his family had been threatened to be killed," St. John said.

Ball added that his client never denied the stalking, which was characterized as sophisticated, including GPS and Bluetooth technology.

"He said, 'I tracked the guy, I went here, I went here, I was watching his house,'" Ball said.

Neither suspect actually killed Chapa, but they were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Their sentencing is in September, though the attorneys say they'll appeal their client's case.

Chapa's killer still hasn't been found.

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