Philadelphia Drug Trafficking Investigation Leads To Arrest Of Seven Defendants
A steady stream of opioids has flooded Pennsylvania for the last two decades, each scarier than the last. The policy changes that have done the most to prevent opioid overdose deaths are the widespread availability of naloxone, which reverses the effects of opioid overdose, and Good Samaritan laws, which protect you from criminal prosecution for your efforts to get medical help for someone suffering from a drug overdose. Prompt treatment with naloxone can rescue someone from a drug overdose, but the only drugs against which it is effective are opioids, even the most powerful ones, like fentanyl or carfentanil. The biggest danger is when street drugs are mixed with non-opioid central nervous system depressants which cause respiratory depression that cannot be reversed by naloxone. Most people who buy drug mixtures adulterated with xylazine, a tranquilizer used in veterinary medicine to anesthetize large animals such as horses and elephants, are unaware that the drugs they are buying contain this dangerous ingredient, and some street level dealers are also unaware. If you are being accused of buying or selling xylazine, contact a Pittsburgh drug crimes lawyer.
How Do Drug Trafficking Cases Unfold?
Criminal cases involving simple possession usually begin with a traffic stop, sometimes prompted by a minor traffic violation. Drug trafficking cases, however, require much more investigation before police can find compelling evidence regarding who has what role in the drug trafficking operation. Even if police find a huge stash of drugs in a car at a traffic stop, this is not the whole story. Drug trafficking charges often apply after prosecutors have presented evidence to a federal grand jury to support charging multiple defendants for contributing to the drug trafficking endeavor. Prosecutors may interview many suspected conspirators to the operation; if you are asked to testify before a grand jury, you must respond. The court must also notify you of your rights as a witness by sending you a federal target letter. In summary, your testimony against someone else may be used as evidence against you, so you have the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment and to have a defense lawyer represent you even if you have not yet been charged.
In the News
An investigation into an alleged drug trafficking operation in Philadelphia has reached the stage of indicting and arresting seven defendants. Before the indictment, police obtained warrants and searched multiple vehicles and residences, eventually finding tens of thousands of dollars in cash and nine firearms, six of which had been stolen. They also found cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and xylazine. The seven defendants arrested in connection with the operation are Christopher Rios de Jesus, Elijah Sharpe, Luis Vicente Arzeno, Julio Valdez-Pimentel, Frank Myers, Josue Vazquez Martinez, and Michael Rodriguez Ojeda.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Drug Crime Cases
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for your alleged role in a drug trafficking operation. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Source:
attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/office-of-attorney-general-pennsylvania-state-police-arrest-seven-in-connection-with-philadelphia-drug-trafficking-operation/
