Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Two Men Sentenced for Shipping Methamphetamine From Los Angeles to Greater Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two men have been sentenced to prison for trafficking methamphetamine that was shipped through mail from Los Angeles to Bemidji, Minnesota, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on July 20, 2021, Molandas Johnson, 26, brought five pounds of methamphetamine to a Post Office in Los Angeles and shipped it to an address in Bemidji, Minnesota. After federal agents from Minnesota observed Johnson ship the package, the agents obtained a search warrant to seize the packaged methamphetamine. Days later, U.S. Postal Investigators and other officers conducted a controlled delivery of the package in Bemidji, and observed co-conspirator Luis Francisco Hernandez, 24, picking up the package.
Johnson pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced on January 25, 2023, in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy E. Brasel to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised released.
Hernandez also pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022, to distribution of controlled substances. He was sentenced on February 9, 2023, by Judge Nancy E. Brasel to nine years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley M. Endicott and Drew R. Winter prosecuted the case.
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