29-year-old David Hernandez of Logansport guilty of a class A felony charge of dealing in cocaine. He sentenced Hernandez to the maximum permitted under the plea agreement.Hernandez and his wife, 22-year-old Siomara Figueroa, were among five people arrested in October in a raid on two homes led by the Cass County Drug Task Force. All five were charged with class A felonies carrying a sentence of up to 50 years in prison.Hernandez signed a plea deal that capped the overall sentence at 30 years, with the executed portion limited to 20 years. The deal also called for prosecutors to drop their case against Figueroa, who sat in the courtroom Tuesday. Because Hernandez was too emotional to read his prepared statement to the court, an interpreter read it aloud in English.
In the letter, Hernandez asked for forgiveness not only from the court, but from God and his wife and children, who he wanted to be reunited. He admitted his wrongdoing and said he would accept the punishment.Chief Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Swaim called Sgt. Jim Klepinger of the drug task force to testify. She asked him about the investigation into Hernandez’s drug-dealing operation. Klepinger said the task force recorded four controlled buys using a confidential informant. The amounts varied from 3.5 grams up to 28.5 grams.It takes three grams to constitute a class A felony under Indiana law.Klepinger added that officers also seized another 28.5 grams when they raided the two homes.Swaim referred to Hernandez as a “high-level dealer,” and Klepinger agreed. On cross examination, Indianapolis attorney Jason Reyome wanted to know whether Klepinger’s consideration of Hernandez as a big-time dealer was relative to the community where he was arrested. He said drug investigations in other communities net kilos, not mere ounces.
“I don’t consider ounces to be minor,” Klepinger responded.
Swaim pointed out that Hernandez was not a cocaine user but strictly a seller. She said his actions put the community at risk.
“He made it his business to enter the country illegally and sell poison,” Swaim said in court.Once he finishes his sentence, Hernandez will be deported to Mexico. Swaim said that if he ever returned to the United States, he would face an additional 10 years in the DOC for probation violation.Reyome had argued that the judge should suspend his client’s sentence for the benefit of taxpayers in these difficult economic times. If the entire sentence were suspended, Hernandez would be deported immediately, Reyome said, and that would eliminate the cost of housing him as an inmate. If Hernandez returned, which Reyome said would be unlikely even though his wife and children are legal residents of the United States, he would face a 30-year prison term.Maughmer wanted to know what then would happen to the punishment deserved for violating the laws of a sovereign nation. Reyome said Hernandez had already served five months in jail. The judge expressed his concern that sending Hernandez back to Mexico without proper punishment would set an undesired precedent.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement already deported one defendant. Earlier this month, an immigration officer removed 24-year-old Martin Rafael Hernandez from the jail after the prosecutor’s office dismissed its case.Both Martin and David Hernandez, along with Figueroa and 33-year-old Javier Serrato and 34-year-old Maria Isabel Cabbrera, were arrested Oct. 23 when officers served search warrants at 1517 George St. and 312 19th St.
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