Terra Bella drug dealer sentenced

FRESNO — A 26-year-old Terra Bella man, described as a long-time methamphetamine supplier who sold the drug primarily to street-level dealers in Terra Bella and Porterville, was sentenced to seven years and three months in federal prison Monday.

U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Adrian Negrete Hernandez to prison for conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

“This case stems from a two-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force wiretap investigation that resulted in five indictments and the conviction of 13 defendants,” Wagner said in a news release issued Monday. “The multi-agency investigation led to the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization based in the small farming communities of Terra Bella and Porterville.”

According to court documents, at his arrest, Hernandez possessed a 9mm Beretta pistol, a Kimber rifle with scope, a Savage rifle with scope and $43,311 in cash, representing the proceeds of his drug trafficking activities.

The investigation was conducted by several federal, state and local authorities including the Porterville Police Department and Kern and Tulare county sheriff’s departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar prosecuted the case.

the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, Southern Tri-County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, Tulare and Kern County sheriff’s departments, and Bakersfield Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Fresno Police Department, Tulare Police Department, and the Porterville Police Department.