An Otay area gang member was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a drug-distribution network, as well as the planning of an armed robbery and assault on behalf of the Mexican Mafia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
“This sentence is a big win for public safety,” U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said of the punishment handed down Monday for Jose Hernandez, also known as “Chapo.”
“This defendant, a violent drug trafficker and gang member, will be unable to menace the community for decades to come,” Brewer said.
Hernandez, 38, pleaded guilty May 9 to conspiring with others to distribute 50 grams of methamphetamine, which involved selling the drugs to several customers, including one person who flew from Florida on two occasions to buy drugs from him. About two weeks later, a federal jury convicted him of being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempting to commit a robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
In that case, prosecutors said Hernandez and two co-defendants planned to rob the unidentified victim and were caught in a vehicle with four firearms, 56 rounds of ammunition and zip ties that investigators believe would have been used to restrain their target. Hernandez was in the front passenger seat of the car that was stopped by officers from the San Diego Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit.
—City News Service
