The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on December 6, 2012, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, GILLERMO RENOVA-HERNANDEZ, a 54-year-old resident of the Hardin area, appeared for sentencing. RENOVA-HERNANDEZ was sentenced to a term of:

Prison: 120 months

Special Assessment: $200

Supervised Release: 5 years

RENOVA-HERNANDEZ was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana.

The government would have proved at trial the following:

From before 2000 until 2011, RENOVA-HERNANDEZ was involved in two conspiracies - to possess with the intent to distribute or distribute methamphetamine and to possess with the intent to distribute or distribute marijuana.

Over a dozen witnesses would have testified to the receipt of these controlled substances, amounting to more than 700 kilograms of marijuana and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine during the above time period.

In lieu of forfeiture of real property, RENOVA-HERNANDEZ agreed to pay the United States $50,000 on or before sentencing.

Part of the investigation included controlled purchases of marijuana and methamphetamine from RENOVA-HERNANDEZ in 2007 and 2008.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that RENOVA-HERNANDEZ will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, RENOVA-HERNANDEZ does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office.

 

 

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