United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. - Bernabe Hernandez, aka Juan Hernandez Marin, aka Raul Hernandez, aka Bernabe Villa-Lobos, 54, of Arvin, was sentenced following his guilty plea on March 31, 2014, to one and a half years in prison and ordered to forfeit $178,179 to the United States. According to court documents, Hernandez is the owner and resident of a 29 acre parcel on Wheeler Ridge Road in Arvin where Kern County Sheriff deputies found and seized 1,387 pounds of processed marijuana and 338 marijuana plants during the execution of a search warrant there. They also found scales, packaging material, and ammunition.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’(ICE) Homeland Security (HSI), and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar handled the criminal case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Mardel Jones handled the forfeiture of assets.