A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to an announcement from United States Attorney David Metcalf. Jeffrey Hernandez, 40, received the statutory maximum sentence of 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release from United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone.
Hernandez was charged by superseding information and pleaded guilty in August. According to case filings and admissions made by Hernandez, he had a 9mm semiautomatic pistol loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. He knew he was not allowed to have a firearm due to his prior felony conviction.
Court documents and hearings revealed that law enforcement found Hernandez with the weapon after the FBI and Philadelphia police received credible information that he and three other men were planning retaliation for an earlier shooting.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Philadelphia Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Martin and Special Assistant United States Attorney Meagan Gordon prosecuted it.
