Roman Hernandez, 39, of Grove City, Ohio, stood before Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham and admitted to fueling the heroin epidemic across Central Ohio. He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and one count of money laundering—crimes that investigators say spanned March to April 2013 and left a trail of addiction and illicit cash in their wake.
The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of 51 to 63 months, followed by three years of supervised release. Hernandez’s admission came as part of a federal prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Prichard, with support from the Central Ohio HIDTA Drug Task Force—a multi-agency unit operating under Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
On April 9, 2013, law enforcement executed a search warrant at 3260 Norwood Street in Columbus, a home rented by Hernandez and his girlfriend. Before agents entered, Hernandez was seen fleeing the property in his Cadillac Escalade. Police stopped the vehicle, and Hernandez confessed on the spot: from January to April 2013, he had been distributing heroin, and the proceeds were stashed inside the house.
Inside, investigators seized more than $55,000 in cash. They also uncovered financial records showing Hernandez had used $26,000 in drug proceeds to buy a property at 4870 Manitoba Road in Columbus. The home was purchased for $70,000 in cash on April 2, 2013, with Hernandez’s share paid via cashier’s check drawn from his personal checking account—funds now confirmed as narcotics profits.
In a further blow to his criminal enterprise, Hernandez agreed to forfeit two firearms: a Cobra, Model M-11, 9mm handgun and a Sig Sauer, Model P250, 9mm handgun. The weapons, authorities say, are emblematic of the violence that shadows the heroin trade and underscore the danger posed by traffickers like Hernandez.
“This individual not only fueled the drug problem in Central Ohio, but he supported addiction in several parts of the country,” said Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Cincinnati Field Office. “Today’s guilty plea is the culmination of a lengthy effort to disrupt the flow of money—the lifeblood that allows drug dealers to proliferate.” U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman praised the HIDTA task force for dismantling a small but damaging node in the region’s drug network.
Related Federal Cases
- Ohio Man Sentenced for Heroin Distribution in W.Va. · West Virginia
- Cleveland’s McClain Sentenced to Decade for Heroin Ring · West Virginia
- Five Canton Men Face Cocaine Distribution Charges · Texas
- North Ridgeville Man Gets 17.5 Years For Child Porn Distribution · Ohio
- Six Cleveland Men Indicted in Heroin Ring · Ohio
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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