Pennsylvania Man Pleads to Sale of Heroin Laced with Fentanyl
April 26th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
An update on one of the stories this blog has covered quite a bit: a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to charges of selling heroin laced with fentanyl in that area in late 2006 and early 2007, according to an article by Reggie Sheffield of the Patriot-News. Sheffield reports:
Felix “Andy” Ortiz-Garcia, 45, could face as long as life in prison when he is sentenced before U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III in January.
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The other four men [charged in the case], Thomas Sweger, 25, of Cumberland County; Eduardo “Edwin” Berrios of Harrisburg; Enrique “Luis” Ramos-Sanchez, 34, of Harrisburg; and Caesar “Adventura” Pena Hernandez, 28, of Philadelphia, face trial on similar charges before Jones in January. Four midstaters died of overdoses blamed on fentanyl-laced heroin in February.
Backstory: More than 1,000 overdose deaths were attributed to a mixture of heroin and fentanyl and heroin during 2006. A lot of these deaths took place in the Midwest. Some took place in Pennsylvania and other eastern states. Prior prosecution action in Philly includes the arrest of a different guy in December 2006, who was described as a “major supplier” of the heroin-fentanyl mixture. In November 2006, a Dover man was sentenced for related sales.