Previously Removed Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty To Trafficking Kilogram Quantities Of Methamphetamine And Illegal Reentry

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hector Hernandez Orozco, 30, of Mexico, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler today and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and illegal reentry charges, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and the plea hearing, on April 3, 2025, Hernandez Orozco sold approximately two pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. Court records also show that Hernandez Orozco had been previously removed from the United States on November 20, 2016, near Del Rio, Texas, and again on November 30, 2016, near Hidalgo, Texas.

Hernandez Orozco pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, which carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The illegal reentry offense carries a maximum term of two years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended HSI for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.