North Texas men receive lengthy federal prison sentences for trafficking fentanyl
PLANO, Texas –Two North Texas men have been sentenced to lengthy federal prison sentences for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Nathan Jesse Garcia, 24, of Dallas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan on February 9, 2026.
Lino Hernandez, 25, of Arlington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan on February 9, 2026.
According to information presented in court, from at least 2022, Garcia and Hernandez conspired with others to distribute fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Dallas Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather H. Rattan.