Department of Justice

[JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE]--Following a three day trial in United States District Court, Greeneville, Tennessee, a jury convicted Jose A. Mandujano Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico, with conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, and possession with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

Sentencing for Hernandez is set for August 10, 2009, at 9:00 a.m, in United States District Court in Greeneville, Tennessee. Hernandez faces a minimum sentence of at least five (5) years and a potential sentence of up to 40 years, $2,000,000 in fines, and four (4) years supervised release for his convictions.

The investigation resulting in the indictment and subsequent conviction of Hernandez began with an October 9, 2008, traffic stop by a Washington County deputy sheriff of a vehicle occupied by Antonio Romero Chavez and Cecilia R. Heatherly. A total of $20,000 in U.S. currency, wrapped in cellophane, was found inside the vehicle. The deputy discovered that Chavez and Heatherly were en route to a Washington County, Tennessee, storage facility. A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force agent responded to the storage facility where as second vehicle occupied by three (3) individuals, Emigdio Rodriguez, Elias Chavez Lopez, and Hernandez, was stopped. A kilogram of cocaine, $69,109.00 in U.S. currency wrapped in cellophane, duct tape, and rubber bands were found within this vehicle. Later that evening, the Washington County residence of Lopez and Hernandez was searched and an additional $8,909.00 in U.S. currency was found in the wall. With the assistance of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, agents located an additional three (3) ounces of cocaine in Bristol, Tennessee, on November 18, 2008. The U.S. currency seized during the investigation, a total of $98,018.00, was forfeited to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the United States.

All five individuals involved in the investigation described above were indicted in by a federal grand jury on related charges. Romero pled guilty to conspiring to distribute more than five (5) kilos of cocaine; Rodriguez and Heatherly both pled guilty to conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; and, Lopez was acquitted at trial. Hernandez, Lopez, Romero and Rodriguez all face the possibility of deportation from the United States.

Law enforcement agencies participating in this joint investigation included the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Bristol Tennessee Police Department, and the DEA Task Force in Johnson City, Tennessee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn L. Hebets and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Whittamore represented the United States.

Washington County Sheriff Graybeal said “I appreciate the interagency cooperation and the assistance we received from the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. I also want to thank the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division for their hard work on this case.”

For additional information, please contact United States Attorney Russ Dedrick, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn L. Hebets, 423-282-1889, or Public Information Officer Sharry Dedman-Beard, 865-545-4167.