Judge upholds pretrial release of Santa Maria man accused of 'overseeing' meth lab in Oklahoma

May 13—An Oklahoma federal judge last month upheld a pretrial release of a Santa Maria man who is accused of "overseeing" a Tulsa lab used to manufacture and ship methamphetamine to multiple states in the southern U.S., according to court documents.

U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan upheld the bail conditions set for Kevin Giovani Hernandez, 28, of Santa Maria, who is charged with three counts, including conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, according to an order filed April 20 in the Northern District of Oklahoma.

In addition, Hernandez is charged with maintaining a drug-involved premises and drug conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years or a maximum of life in prison.

Hernandez was one of 12 defendants indicted as part of the drug conspiracy on March 10. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 12, records show.

Eagan issued the ruling after prosecutors appealed a California federal magistrate judge's order to release Hernandez under certain conditions, given the nature of the charges and believing that he would flee to Mexico.

The conditions included a $20,000 appearance bond, but the California judge did not order location monitoring, according to records.

"[Hernandez] has minimal criminal history and has no previous convictions or charges for drug or firearm offenses," Eagan said. "[Hernandez] has strong ties to the Central District of California in terms of employment and familial relationships and he has resided in California his entire life."

Hernandez, whose occupation is listed as a chef at a Pismo Beach restaurant, was arrested on a federal warrant March 29 after he was identified in a joint investigation between the Tulsa Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration as part of a drug trafficking operation linked to Mexico, according to records.

The investigation began in September 2020, when Tulsa Police officers and DEA agents executed a search warrant at one of the organization's conversion labs, which converts liquid methamphetamine to its crystalized form. Eight more search warrants were conducted in March 2021 at locations near Oklahoma City, including at one in which shots were fired at agents, according to records.

Court records show Hernandez was identified in January as a methamphetamine cook and "facilitator" for the drug trafficking organization and that he flew from Santa Maria to oversee the Tulsa conversion lab.

During a February search warrant executed by the Tulsa Police Department and federal agents at a residence in the 5000 block of North Columbia Place in Tulsa, officials allegedly located materials previously purchased by Hernandez and large quantities of methamphetamine.

After making entry into the residence, police officials contacted Jorge Martinez and Jessica Oronoz-Hernandez, who told agents they came from Santa Maria to the residence on Jan. 3, according to records.

Martinez allegedly told investigators that a man had come to the lab from Mexico and taught him how to cook methamphetamine. He admitted to being paid $5,000 to run the conversion lab, while Oronoz-Hernandez's job was to clean the pots and other lab equipment, records show.

The liquid meth was allegedly converted into its crystal form via the labs and distributed to states that included Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Georgia and Tennessee.

A jury trial was tentatively scheduled for Sept. 12, with motions due by July 28 and responses due by Aug. 11. A pretrial conference also was scheduled for Aug. 25, before Eagan, at the U.S. Courthouse in Tulsa, according to records.