Mexican National Faces Federal Charges After Meth, Gun Seized During Traffic Stop

A 30-year-old Mexican national living in the United States illegally is facing federal drug and firearm charges following an investigation by the Homeland Security Task Force.

Bryan Hernandez-Rendon has been charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, Hernandez-Rendon was pulled over by officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) on December 16, 2023, for a traffic violation during a routine stop.

Investigators determined that he did not possess a valid driver’s license. During the stop, officers found a firearm inside the vehicle. A subsequent search uncovered a KAHR Arms CW40 pistol and a clear plastic bag containing 427.1 grams of methamphetamine on the passenger-side floorboard, according to the indictment and criminal complaint.

Hernandez-Rendon appeared in federal court on May 20 and was ordered to remain in federal custody pending further proceedings.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison on the drug trafficking charge. The firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed, and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Wiseman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina said the allegations remain unproven. Hernandez-Rendon is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In a separate case, a Dominican national who had been residing in Saugus was extradited from the Dominican Republic to the United States to face federal charges related to an alleged drug trafficking and money laundering operation.

According to a May 19 press release from the Department of Justice, Frank Maiky Baez Guerrero, 29, was charged with continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.

Federal prosecutors allege that Baez Guerrero led a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in Massachusetts, Maine and the Dominican Republic. The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Homeland Security Task Force.

Authorities contend that the organization was involved in the distribution of significant quantities of illegal narcotics and the laundering of proceeds generated from drug sales.

On Nov. 26, 2024, federal authorities indicted 10 alleged members of Baez Guerrero’s drug trafficking organization (DTO) on drug conspiracy and firearms charges.

Prosecutors allege that, at Baez Guerrero’s direction, members of the organization routinely transported fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine from Massachusetts to Maine, where they rented residences to store and distribute the drugs to local customers.

Investigators say the proceeds from those sales were then transported back to Massachusetts. According to the indictment, Baez Guerrero continued to oversee and direct the organization while operating from both the United States and the Dominican Republic.