Long-Time Wilmington Housing Authority Employee Indicted On Drug Distribution Charges

WILMINGTON, Del. – Edwin Hernandez, 46, of Wilmington, Del., and Hector Hernandez, 36, of New Castle, Del., were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges relating to the distribution of a half-kilogram of cocaine in Wilmington, Del., announced Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware. 

Edwin Hernandez has worked at the Wilmington Housing Authority as Maintenance Superintendent for over twenty years.  According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, on February 5, 2015, Edwin Hernandez was arrested in a Wilmington Housing Authority van in the CVS Pharmacy parking lot at 1005 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware.  At the time of his arrest, he was found to be in possession of more than 500 grams of cocaine, which is valued at over $50,000.

Also charged was Edwin Hernandez’s brother, Hector Hernandez, who was arrested at the same time, in possession of a loaded firearm, near the CVS Pharmacy parking lot.

The defendants face two charges that each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years imprisonment (with a mandatory minimum of five years), up to a lifetime of supervised release (with a mandatory minimum of 4 years), a fine of up to $5,000,000 and a $100 special assessment, if convicted.  In addition, Hector Hernandez faces a third charge, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries an additional mandatory minimum term of 5 years imprisonment.

The case is the product of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Drug Trafficking Task Force, which is part of the New Castle County HIDTA, a recently established collaborative effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  The DEA Drug Trafficking Task Force includes members from the following agencies: DEA, Delaware State Police, New Castle County Police Department, Newark Police Department, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland  Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Delaware Probation and Parole, and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Shawn A. Weede and Special Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth L. Van Pelt are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Indictments are only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.