A South Sound resident with four drug stash houses in Tacoma, Auburn and Federal Way was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release, announced U.S. attorney Annette L. Hayes.

George Edward Hernandez, Jr, 33, was charged federally in November 2015, following court authorized searches of his residences and vehicles. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan imposed the sentence.

“We have seen time and again the destruction that drugs and guns bring to our communities,” Hayes said. “As dealers use lethal force to protect their illegal businesses, they destroy the sense of safety in our neighborhoods. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these types of cases to ensure violent criminals like this one are taken off our streets for as long as possible.”

On Jan. 10, Hernandez pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Hernandez came to the attention of law enforcement in 2015, shortly before a person working with law enforcement set up a deal with one of his drug couriers. Law enforcement was able to trace the various houses where Hernandez kept his drugs, and in August 2015, executed search warrants. At his Tacoma residence they found more than a kilo of methamphetamine, a kilo of heroin and some cocaine, as well as a Glock.40 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

At one Auburn house, they found four kilos of heroin, three kilos of cocaine, three kilos of methamphetamine and an AK-47. At the other Auburn home, they found two rifles and in Hernandez’s car parked outside they found a loaded semi-automatic pistol. Finally, at a Federal Way residence, they found two semi-automatic pistols. In his plea agreement, Hernandez admits he had the weapons to protect his drug dealing. The searches also turned up $53,332 in cash from the drug dealing.

Hernandez has 18 prior convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Tacoma Police Department. The case was prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Michael Dion and Siddharth Velamoor.