Honduran Man Sentenced in Maryland to 12 Years for Murder-for-Hire Plot
State of MD - An illegal alien from Honduras will spend more than a decade behind bars for a list of serious crimes, including a plan to have someone killed.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Frelin Hernandez Guardado, 30, to 12 years in federal prison. He was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and murder for hire.
Hernandez Guardado is in the country illegally. Records show he had already been removed from the United States two times before this arrest.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes announced the sentence. She was joined by leaders from the ATF, DEA, FBI, and the Prince George's County Police Department.
Court documents show the case started in October 2021. Hernandez Guardado sold firearms to confidential sources on two separate occasions that month.
Federal law does not allow illegal aliens to own or possess firearms. In December 2021, law enforcement carried out search warrants and arrests as part of a case against a local drug trafficking network.
After those arrests, Hernandez Guardado told two confidential sources that he wanted someone dead. He believed that person had helped police make the arrests.
He offered one of the confidential sources a deal. He would sell them cocaine at a discount if they helped him carry out the killing.
On January 12, 2022, Hernandez Guardado left his home in Virginia with a confidential source. He brought more than 900 grams of cocaine, planning to sell it at a discount to another confidential source in exchange for help with the murder.
Before that plan could move forward, law enforcement stopped him. He was arrested in Maryland that same day.
The case was investigated under the Homeland Security Task Force, known as HSTF. The task force was created under Executive Order 14159, called Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
The HSTF brings together multiple federal, state, and local agencies. Its goal is to target criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and trafficking organizations operating in the United States.
The Baltimore task force includes agents from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the ATF, the DEA, the IRS Criminal Investigation division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Maryland State Police, and several local police departments. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Hayes thanked the FBI, ATF, and DEA for their work on the investigation. She also thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Jaskiw and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth S. Clark for prosecuting the case.
