Federal Jury Convicts Simpsonville Man of Possessing Over 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute - Faces Life Sentence in Federal Prison

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Quirino Hernandez, 31; Adam Stone, 28; and Luis Rodriguez, 29, were sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to participating in a drug conspiracy involving methamphetamine.  Hernandez, Stone, and Rodriguez received sentences of 17 years, 13 years, and 5 years in federal prison, respectively.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

Andy Moorman, Head of the Narcotics Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the Court during the sentencing hearings that Hernandez, located in Gainesville, Georgia, was the source of supply for kilograms of methamphetamine.  Hernandez, with the help of Rodriguez, a runner, would meet drug dealers from Anderson, South Carolina, at a carwash in Gainesville, Georgia.  While at the carwash, Hernandez would sell kilograms of methamphetamine to these drug dealers for tens of thousands of dollars, and they would return to the Upstate of South Carolina to sell the methamphetamine to their customers.

According to Moorman, Adam Stone was a courier for another leader in the organization, Joshua Peace.  Peace sent Stone to the Atlanta, Georgia, area on multiple occasions to buy kilograms of methamphetamine at his request.  After buying the methamphetamine, Stone would bring it to Peace in South Carolina, where Peace and other members of the organization would sell it locally.

Peace, Hernandez, Stone, Rodriguez, and others in this drug trafficking organization were responsible for the distribution of over $1 million worth of methamphetamine in the Upstate of South Carolina and elsewhere. During the course of the investigation and prosecution, federal agents and local law enforcement seized over $600,000 in U.S. Currency, seven automobiles, and other property that conspirators bought with drug proceeds.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson Police Department, and the Franklin County (GA) Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

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