Man in indictment appears in court
By JASON BUCH, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
04/08/2008

The fifth person to be named in a 47-count indictment targeting the Gulf Cartel's Zetas appeared Monday in federal court.Andres Alfredo Hernandez, whose name had been redacted from the copy of the indictment first made available by federal authorities, pleaded not guilty to counts of drug conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, attempted murder, use of a juvenile to commit a violent crime and use of a firearm in a crime of violence and drug trafficking crime.

The drug conspiracy charge, under which all 32 defendants in the case have been charged, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The other counts Hernandez is charged under contain maximum penalties ranging from 20 to 40 years in prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Moreno said in court Monday.

Hernandez entered a plea of not guilty to all charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Adriana Arce-Flores on Monday.

Hernandez and Rene "Rana" Garcia are accused of acting as go-betweens for an alleged Zeta member in Mexico, according to the indictment.

The two men traveled to Rio Bravo, a town on the Mexican side of the river in the Rio Grande Valley, on Feb. 8, 2006, to meet with at least one defendant, whose name also has been blacked out, the indictment states.

In Rio Bravo, the men were given $5,000 and a list of Chapos, or members of the Sinaloa Cartel whom the Zetas were targeting, all of which they were to hand over to another defendant, according to the indictment.

The indictment accuses Hernandez of housing more than one of the defendants in the case on Feb. 18, 2006.

Hernandez's attorney, Javier Montemayor Jr., requested Monday his client be granted a cash bond.

Hernandez is a U.S. citizen with family, including a pregnant wife, in Laredo and has no prior criminal history except for a DWI charge that was dismissed, Montemayor said.

Moreno asked that Hernandez be held without bail due to the nature of the crimes he's charged with.

Arce-Flores said she would make a written ruling on the matter. As of Monday afternoon, she had not made a ruling.

The indictment alleges members of the Zetas, the Gulf Cartel's enforcement arm, used murder, kidnapping and money laundering to further the interests of a narcotics-smuggling enterprise.

The defendants were involved in a conspiracy to smuggle more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and more than five kilograms of cocaine, the indictment alleges.

(Jason Buch may be reached at 728-2547 or jbuch@lmtonline.com)

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