Santa Ana Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Possessing Nearly One Kilogram of Fentanyl and Gun in His Bedroom Closet
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who was arrested after authorities uncovered at his residence nearly one kilogram of the extremely potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, as well as a .45 caliber pistol, was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison.
Guillermo Ernesto Sanchez Hermosillo, 43, of Santa Ana, was sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton. Hermosillo pleaded guilty on January 24 to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Hermosillo received a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for the fentanyl crime and a consecutive five-year mandatory minimum sentence for the firearm offense.
After receiving information that Hermosillo was engaging in drug-trafficking activities, officers with the Huntington Beach Police Department and a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went to Hermosillo’s apartment on July 31, 2018 to conduct a probation compliance check. Hermosillo was on probation after sustaining a conviction in a domestic violence case four months earlier. At the time of the search, there were three minors in the apartment, including a 3-week-old baby.
Hermosillo admitted in his plea agreement that at the time of the July 2018 search, in a bedroom closet in his residence, he possessed 891 grams of fentanyl, nearly two kilograms of heroin and approximately 2.7 kilograms of methamphetamine. Hermosillo also admitted to knowingly possessing a firearm – a Glock.45 caliber pistol – in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The ATF and the Huntington Beach Police Department investigated this matter.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anne C. Gannon of the Santa Ana Branch Office.
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