WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Rolando Hernandez, a 35-year-old Waco man involved in a significant vehicle theft operation, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday. Hernandez, who pleaded guilty to multiple charges, was implicated in the theft of vehicles and trailers worth approximately $750,000 throughout Central Texas.
Hernandez was sentenced to 20 years for his involvement in organized criminal activity related to the theft ring. Additionally, he pleaded guilty to two counts of evading arrest with a vehicle, resulting in two consecutive 30-year prison sentences as part of a plea agreement with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office.
Hernandez will serve the three sentences concurrently, receiving credit for the 536 days he has already spent in jail. He will be eligible for parole after serving at least a quarter of his 30-year sentence.
As a habitual offender, Hernandez’s convictions carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. His criminal history includes a 2018 conviction for evading arrest with a vehicle, which resulted in an injury to a McLennan County deputy, and a 2008 conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.
In one of his evading cases in 2023, Hernandez led Waco police on a 15-minute high-speed chase through North and South Waco. The pursuit ended after the rental truck he was driving ran out of gas. Hernandez fled on foot but was captured shortly after on Gurley Avenue.
In another instance, police attempted to serve a warrant on Hernandez, but he fled in a GMC Yukon, leading officers on a chase that reached speeds of 70 mph. After driving the wrong way on a one-way street, he crashed into another vehicle, causing his car to spin out and crash into a house.
Hernandez was charged alongside Isabell Gonzalez, Orlando Crespo, and Anthony Contreras in connection to the theft ring. Gonzalez was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Crespo received a 20-year sentence. Contreras’s case is still pending.
