Jefferson County Man Indicted for Soliciting Murder-For-Hire

BEAUMONT, Texas – A 46-year-old Port Arthur, Texas man has been indicted for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

               Santos Orellana-Hernandez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 20, 2020 and charged with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

               According to the indictment, from January 17, 2020 until March 18, 2020, in the Eastern District of Texas and elsewhere, Orellana-Hernandez used a telephone to solicit the murder of two persons in violation of the laws of the United States.

               If convicted, Orellana-Hernandez faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

               This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Port Arthur Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

               A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.