Man gets 20 years probation

Published 7:47 am Monday, August 23, 2010

An Austin man arrested following a March drug raid was sentenced Friday to 20 years of probation and a 21-month stayed jail sentence.

Omar Hernandez-Sanchez, 22, will also perform 80 hours of community service as part of his sentence. If he violates the terms of his probation, he will spend the 21 months at a state correctional facility in St. Cloud.

The search, which stemmed from an ongoing investigation by the Southeast Minnesota Narcotics and Gang Task Force, was executed on the morning of March 23 at Hernandez-Sanchez’s home, located in the 400 block of Ninth Street Northwest.

Email newsletter signup

Detained at the home was Hernandez-Sanchez, as well as two small children. Tonya Faye Navarro, 35, was also detained while taking an older child to school.

Navarro has pleaded not guilty to several felony drug charges and awaits a pre-trial appearance on Oct. 22.

Inside the residence, authorities uncovered 12 grams of meth in the kitchen, according to a criminal complaint. Hernandez-Sanchez claimed that the drugs belonged to him and that he used them but did not sell them. When asked about $4,520 cash seized in the house, Hernandez-Sanchez said he got the money from “selling cars.”

He went on to say that neither he nor Navarro had regular jobs, but he did say she had some money from “selling a hotel,” the complaint states.