Laura Kimble, senior drug chemist and forensic scientist with the Hamilton County CoronerÕs Crime Laboratory located in Blue Ash, shows some of the fake oxycodone, Thursday, March 24, 2022 that was seized in a large drug bust. Legally prescribed, the drug is used to relieve severe pain. It is an opioid analgesic. The fake pills contain fentanyl and acetaminophen. But though the drugs were confiscated in the same drug bust, theyÕre not all the same. Kimble said one pill tested with no actual drugs in it. She noted the discoloration and smudging of the letters. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 100 times more potent than morphine. Covid Death Hit One Million
San Diego, California – Danny Nunez of San Diego was sentenced in federal court today to 188 months in prison for supplying the fentanyl that caused the fatal overdose of a 25-year-old woman from Escondido in 2024. The case shines a light on the continuing crisis of opioid-related deaths in California and the determined efforts of law enforcement to hold drug traffickers accountable.
Nunez admitted in his plea agreement that he sold fentanyl to the victim, identified in court documents as L.P., on September 11, 2024. The following day, L.P.’s parents found her lifeless in her bedroom. Despite the rapid response of emergency personnel, EMTs could not revive her.
The investigation took a decisive turn on October 3, 2024, when detectives from the Escondido Police Department, posing as L.P., reached out to Nunez to arrange another fentanyl purchase. Nunez agreed and was arrested outside his home that same day, carrying two baggies of fentanyl weighing a total of nearly 9 grams.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon emphasized the gravity of the case, stating, “The defendant stole a young life and shattered a family by peddling deadly fentanyl. Today’s sentence sends a clear and powerful message: Those who traffic in poison will be held fully accountable for the devastation they cause.”
The Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST), a multiagency task force formed in August 2022 to disrupt fentanyl trafficking networks within San Diego County, conducted the investigation. Shawn Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego, highlighted the strength of interagency cooperation. “FAST is committed to ensuring the individuals who distribute fentanyl into our communities are held accountable,” he said.
The San Diego and Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program also lent its support. HIDTA, created by Congress in 1988, provides critical resources to law enforcement agencies combating drug trafficking in designated high-risk areas. David King, HIDTA’s executive director, noted, “San Diego County is a safer place after this investigation and successful prosecution.”
Escondido Police Lt. Ryan Hicks added that local police remain vigilant in targeting fentanyl distributors, with essential support from federal and county partners. “We work aggressively to identify and hold accountable anyone who chooses to participate in the poisoning of our community through illicit fentanyl distribution,” he said.
