Current Progreso Police Department Sergeant Geovani (Not, “Giovani,” Valley Central) Hernandez has been charged with aiding and abetting the trafficking of narcotics stemming from a sting operation lasting between March through July of 2017, as announced in a news release by acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.
Here is the Press Release from the DOJ’s US Attorney’s office of the Southern District of Texas reproduced in full:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 14, 2017
Police Officer Charged with Drug Trafficking
McALLEN, Texas – A 43-year-old sergeant with the Progresso (SIC) Police Department has been taken into custody on charges of aiding and abetting the attempt to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Authorities arrested Giovani (SIC) Hernandez upon the filing of a sealed criminal complaint on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos this morning and is set for a probable cause and detention hearing on Aug. 18, 2017. Hernandez, of Weslaco, is a sergeant with the Progreso Police Department, according to the charges. From March through July 2017, a confidential source allegedly met with Hernandez seeking assistance for a drug trafficking organization. The criminal complaint alleges the meetings culminated in Hernandez agreeing to provide protection for a vehicle he believed contained a controlled substance through the Progreso area. In return for his assistance, Hernandez allegedly received approximately $5,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS – Criminal Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation which was dubbed Operation Blue Shame. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anibal J. Alaniz and Kristen Rees are prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
As mentioned in our headline, you may remember him as the same Geovani who unsuccessfully ran for Hidalgo County Sheriff beginning in 2012, losing to then-Sheriff Lupe Treviño in the Democratic Primary. In 2014, after only a short time accepting the head spot with La Joya PD, Hernandez again lost the Democratic Primary as well as the general election to then-Hidalgo County Deputy and human mustache, Eddie Guerra as he ran an odd “write-in” campaign in an attempt to get on the general election ballot. Hernandez ran on a platform that criticized the current administration following the fallout of the Panama Unit scandal that sent prominent Sheriff Lupe Treviño (and his son, Jonathon) to prison.
A few months after his 2nd defeat, Hernandez resigned from La Joya PD citing “other business opportunities.” Whatever those “opportunities” were eventually landed him in Progreso, one of the shadiest and corrupt cities in the area and now, most likely, prison.
