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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Aug. 31 , 2009
SHERIFF’S OFFICERS WERE WAITING FOR TEXAS MAN TO DELIVER 100 POUNDS OF POT
TOPEKA, KAN. – Lorenzo Hernandez, 42, San Antonio, Texas, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess 100 pounds of marijuana, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.
In his plea, Hernandez admitted he was arrested April 8, 2006, when he unloaded 100 pounds of marijuana from a van at a house in the unincorporated Montara area of Shawnee County, Kan. According to court documents, in March 2006, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit obtained information that a Hispanic male from Texas was delivering at least 100 pounds of marijuana every four weeks to drug traffickers in Shawnee County. Deputies secured a vacant house in the Montara area of Shawnee County, wired it with cameras and surveillance equipment, and arranged for a delivery to be made there. Hernandez was arrested while he was unloading the marijuana from a van.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 30, 2009. Hernandez faces a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million.
Welch commended the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough for their work on the case.
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