Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Nicolas Garcia Hernandez, a 27-year-old from Shelbyville, Tennessee, to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Garcia Hernandez entered a guilty plea on November 13, 2024.
Court documents reveal that Garcia Hernandez illegally entered the United States from Mexico around 2020. He made two trips from Tennessee to Florida's Middle District to deliver methamphetamine. In December 2023, he delivered nearly three kilograms of the drug to an informant. In May 2024, while en route to deliver more methamphetamine to the same informant, he was stopped by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper on I-75 in Hillsborough County. A police canine alerted officers to his vehicle, prompting Garcia Hernandez to flee on foot across I-75. Troopers apprehended him safely after pursuing him through oncoming traffic.
Upon his capture, authorities found 5.9 kilograms of methamphetamine in his vehicle and additional quantities in his wallet. The court attributed approximately 8.8 kilograms of methamphetamine to Garcia Hernandez.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bradenton Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samantha E. Beckman.
