A Texas man arrested in Morgan County last year with more than 66 pounds of cocaine has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.
David Hernandez Jr. of El Paso was sentenced August 25th in federal court to 168 months behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to federal charges of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime back in April.
Hernandez was arrested August 20th, 2025, after Morgan County sheriff’s deputies, the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies stopped his pickup truck on Interstate 72 near South Jacksonville.
Authorities said the truck was traveling from Texas to Chicago. More than 66 pounds of cocaine, estimated at the time to be worth about three million dollars, was found in the bed of the truck.
Hernandez was also charged in state court with drug trafficking, possession and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Those charges were eventually dismissed in lieu of the federal indictment.
Hernandez was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following last Tuesday’s sentencing.