Orange County Man Sentenced to 4.25 Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and Heroin in Bakersfield and Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. — Luis Noe Hernandez Rojo, 34, of Orange, was sentenced today to four years and three months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Hernandez participated in a well-established heroin and methamphetamine drug trafficking organization based in Mexico by agreeing to deliver fentanyl and heroin on two occasions in Bakersfield on behalf of the organization. On Aug. 7, 2019, Hernandez delivered approximately 2,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl to an undercover agent. On Dec. 13, 2019, Hernandez was arrested while transporting to the same undercover agent in Fresno approximately 60,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, 4.2 pounds of fentanyl powder, and 17.6 pounds of black tar heroin.

Co-defendant Donis Ariel Maldonado, 31, a citizen of Guatemala, was arrested last year for his involvement in the drug conspiracy and is scheduled for a status conference in federal court in Fresno on Sept. 20, 2023.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the High Impact Investigation Team (HITT) with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. HIIT is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Initiative, which consists of personnel from the FBI, the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, the Kings County Sheriff’s Office, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.