A California sheriff’s deputy is facing two felony charges after he was caught with more than 100 pounds of fentanyl in his car — and possible ties to Mexican drug cartels.
Jorge Orceguera-Rocha, 25, was charged Monday with one felony count each of possession of fentanyl for sale and transporting narcotics.
The four-year law enforcement veteran is also accused of being armed with a firearm during the offense, which could have brought him a longer sentence.
Orceguera-Rocha has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is being held at the John Benoit Detention Center on $5 million bail after his former colleagues at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office claimed he was a flight risk because of his possible ties to Mexican drug cartels, USA Today reported.
It is not clear what the relationship is.
The sheriff’s office announced last week that it was investigating a drug ring when it identified one of its own employees – Orceguera-Rocha – as playing a key role in transporting narcotics into the county.
Jorge Orceguera-Rocha, 25, was charged Monday with one felony count each of possession of fentanyl for sale and transporting narcotics.
Authorities opened an investigation into Orceguera-Rocha’s actions, and intercepted his phone calls.
It is unclear how long they have been surveilling Orceguera-Rocha, or what evidence might prompt the investigation.
But on Sept. 16, deputies learned he planned to go to an “identified narcotics storage location” in Victorville, Calif., investigator Joshua Ricard wrote in an affidavit obtained by USA Today.
Around 1 p.m., investigators saw him driving near Banning, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, and a few hours later saw him again in San Bernardino County, according to the affidavit.
By 3 p.m., the affidavit said, Orceguera-Rocha arrived at a home in Victorville and made a phone call to an unidentified family member.
He then allegedly entered the garage of the house.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced last week that it was investigating a drug ring when it identified one of its own employees as playing a key role in transporting narcotics into the county. Google Maps
From there, investigators said, they followed him as he drove away.
Eventually, a “narcotics detection deputy” conducted the traffic stop, Ricard wrote in the affidavit, adding that a trained dog alerted authorities to the possible presence of narcotics.
“In the trunk of the vehicle, the police found four garbage bags, all of them containing square shaped bags [packages] wrapped in clear cellophane,” the affidavit said.
“Further inspection of the packages revealed that they all contained a large quantity of M30 pills laced with blue fentanyl.”
The package weighed a total of 104 pounds, and contained 520,000 pills, according to the affidavit.
Orceguera-Rocha’s loaded Glock was also sitting in his back seat.
The Post has reached out to his attorney, Randy Collins, for comment.
Deputies learned he planned to go to an “identified narcotics storage location” in Victorville, Calif., investigator Joshua Ricard wrote in an affidavit.
Deputies now say their former colleague, who resigned following the allegations, knew what he was doing could have deadly consequences — though they claim he did not smuggle “narcotics into the Riverside County jail system” and is not believed to have transported narcotics while on duty.
“Based on his employment with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, your partner knew Oceguera-Rocha had knowledge of the dangers of fentanyl and the mass overdose pandemic,” Ricard wrote in the affidavit.
“Your Affian estimates the quantity he had at the time of his arrest was enough to kill about 2 million people.”
Ricard also argued that any money Orceguera-Rocha used to pay bail could have come from a criminal organization.
Orceguera-Rocha is due back in court on October 31, when a judge is set to reconsider her bail.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
