United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that two former residents of the Brookings, South Dakota, area, convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, were sentenced on Aug. 19, 2016, by U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Javier Santos Garcia-Hernandez, age 33, and Juan Francisco Herrera-Rodriguez, age 26, were both sentenced to 121 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. They were also ordered to pay $100 each to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Garcia-Hernandez and Herrera-Rodriguez were indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine by a federal grand jury on May 24, 2016. They were found guilty of the offense on June 3, 2016, after a four-day jury trial.
Beginning in April 2015, the defendants worked together to distribute methamphetamine in Brookings County. They recruited others to sell methamphetamine for them during the conspiracy. Confidential informants working with law enforcement purchased methamphetamine from the defendants on multiple occasions. Several recorded buys were made, and the defendants provided over 200 grams of pure methamphetamine to the informants for distribution. They were arrested on Sept. 15, 2015.
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer D. Mammenga prosecuted the case.
Both men were immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
