Drug Courier Sentenced To 50 Months

Rodolpho Hernandez Flores, a 47-year old Mexican national, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Michael J. Reagan to 50 months in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of heroin, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

According to court documents, Flores pled guilty to driving 5.4 kilograms of heroin, hidden in his truck, across the United States to Ohio. An Illinois State Police Trooper stopped Flores on Interstate 55 in April 2014 and following an alert by a drug canine, law enforcement found the heroin in a concealed compartment within the truck. Flores confessed to being a drug courier.

Chief Judge Reagan sentenced Flores after considering many factors, including the facts surrounding the traffic stop, Flores’s prior employment and work history, his character, and the serious amount of heroin in this case, commenting that "it’s a lot of heroin" and that Flores had "up to 50,000 doses of heroin." There is no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Reagan also sentenced Flores to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay a $500 fine. According to United States Attorney Wigginton, "The amount of heroin in this case is astonishing and highlights how severe the problem has become in our communities. This is why I have made cases involving heroin one of the highest priorities in my office. We are deeply committed to prosecuting heroin traffickers, whether they are the illegal variety (such as this man) or those who do so with a prescription pad."

The Illinois State Police and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump prosecuted the offense.