A federal jury found Fernando Hernandez, 46, of Omaha, Nebraska, guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine on April 1. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods after a three-day trial before Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr.
The case is significant as it involved a network distributing methamphetamine in the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas. Hernandez was one of twelve people indicted in April 2024; all other defendants pleaded guilty and have either been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing.
According to evidence presented at trial, Hernandez worked with a Mexican source supplying methamphetamine locally. In late 2023, he acted as a courier for the operation. On October 2, law enforcement used a cooperating witness who ordered one pound of methamphetamine from the source. The source directed the witness to an Omaha location where Hernandez delivered the drugs. Officers later observed Hernandez meeting two codefendants who were stopped and found with another pound of methamphetamine and $4,000 in cash that was later forfeited.
Hernandez’s sentencing is set for July 10. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years in prison and up to life imprisonment due to his prior federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; he had been released from prison in 2017 after serving nearly nine years for that offense.
The investigation was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF involves collaboration among federal agencies such as the FBI and local law enforcement including Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, Bellevue Police Department, Lincoln Police Department—many officers testified during trial—and is prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska.
