ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT PLEADS GUILTY OF METH TRAFFICKING

A Mexican citizen is facing life in prison for his role in a
methamphetamine deal in Waterloo.

Andres Hernandez-Carrillo, 34, who was living in Waterloo, pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of pure
methamphetamine in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Sentencing will be set at a later date, but Hernandez-Carrillo will
have to serve a minimum of 10 years without parole -- and could face
life in prison and a fine of as much as $4 million.

Hernandez-Carrillo, who is also known by the names Jose Luis
Perez-Mendez and Alberto Reyes, is in the custody of the U.S.
Marshals Service until sentencing.

Prosecutor Matthew Cole said Hernandez-Carrillo was involved in a
plan to distribute meth in the Waterloo area from 2004 until
September 2005. Authorities said he sent a person to a Waterloo gas
station to pick up half a pound of methamphetamine from two of his
coconspirators Sept. 2005.

The person he sent was actually an informant working with
investigators, Cole said. Two people at the gas station were arrested
during the exchange, and Hernandez-Carrillo was taken into custody.
Officers later searched his home and found meth, marijuana, drug
notes and $1,026 in cash.

Hernandez-Carrillo had earlier pleaded guilty to falsely stating he
was a citizen of the United States.