01 Feb Federal fentanyl distribution charges brought against Butte County residents – Chico Enterprise-Record
SACRAMENTO — Three men from the Oroville and Palermo areas have been indicted on federal charges alleging they conspired to sell and sold hundreds of counterfeit oxycodone tablets laced with fentanyl.
U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott and Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea announced that a grand jury returned a three-count indictment Thursday against Guillermo Jose Leon Ramirez, 41, of Oroville; Justin James Garcia, 44, of Oroville; and William Lee Vollendroff, 43, of Palermo.
The men have been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and two counts of distribution of fentanyl, according to court documents. They each face a possibile minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum term of 40 years.
The defendants previously pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Jan. 18.
The charges against the men stem from an investigation conducted since September 2018 by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Butte County Interagency Narcotics Task Force.
According to court documents, drug agents conducted two separate drug purchases of counterfeit oxycodone tablets using a confidential source working with law enforcement for money.
During the first drug deal, on Sept. 21 in Oroville, the law enforcement source wore a wire and purchased 400 small blue pills manufactured to look like oxycodone. Lab testing revealed the pills contained fentanyl.
During the second drug purchase, conducted on Oct. 12, the confidential source again wore a wire and purchased about 600 pills made to look like oxycodone tablets. That batch of pills also contained fentanyl.
The charges against the men come at a time of multiple incidents of possible fentanyl-related overdoses in Butte County.
Police have said a man who died on the scene of an apparent mass overdose incident Jan. 12 at a home in Chico had fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine in his system. And the Butte County Sheriff’s Office has said it was investigating whether fentanyl was involved in the overdoses of three people Jan. 14 at a casino in Oroville.
Chico police have said they do not believe the mass overdose and casino incidents are related.
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