Houston Area Man Sentenced for Role in Cocaine Distribution

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 28-year-old resident of Pasedena has been ordered to prison for his participation in a cocaine distribution scheme involving multiple seizures of cocaine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Victor Hugo Hernandez pleaded guilty May 24, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered Hernandez to serve a total of 120 months in federal prison. The sentence will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. 

Beginning in April 2015, Hernandez participated in a series of meetings to negotiate the transportation of approximately 30 kilograms of cocaine to Kansas City, Missouri. Law enforcement observed and recorded these meetings. On May 1, 2015, Hernandez went to a fast food restaurant in Brownsville and finalized the delivery of the cocaine. Co-conspirator Mario Marroquin arrived and delivered the narcotics in the parking lot. The drugs were then transported to Kansas City where they ultimately tested positive for cocaine and weighed approximately 29 kilograms.

In October 2015, Hernandez engaged in another transaction involving the transportation of cocaine to North Carolina. He assisted the cocaine distribution scheme as Jaime Pena and Jose Adan Lopez delivered two separate loads of cocaine to an undercover officer. Pena delivered approximately 25 kilograms of cocaine at an Olmito convenience store, while Lopez provided 20 kilograms of cocaine to the office at a Home Improvement store in Brownsville.

The court found the total amount of cocaine for which Hernandez was responsible in these three transactions was 74 kilograms.

Each of the co-conspirators had also pleaded guilty. Lopez, 43, Marroquin, 25, and Pena, 53, all of Brownsville, received 102, 70 and 54 months in prison, respectively.

Hernandez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and police departments in Brownsville and Pasadena conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jody Young and Karen Betancourt prosecuted the case.