Orange County residents among 7 suspected drug dealers charged in fentanyl overdose cases
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) -- Seven suspected drug dealers are facing federal charges for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced narcotics that caused fatal overdoses, including one case in which three people died in Newport Beach, prosecutors announced Friday.
The featured video is from a previous report.
The victims include two minors and one community college student. In most of the cases, the victims did not know they were ingesting fentanyl, which can be deadly in tiny amounts. Some of the alleged traffickers knew or had reason to believe their products contained the powerful synthetic opioid, even though they claimed to be selling other narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison told reporters at a news conference Friday morning that the opioid crisis is "one of the most significant health problems facing our nation."
Federal and local authorities at the news conference sounded the alarms about the rising impact fentanyl is having as drug traffickers continue to pivot toward the synthetic narcotic, which is easier and cheaper to make as opposed to plant-based drugs like heroin that require acquisition and control of large fields to grow.
Fentanyl is increasingly being mixed in with various other drugs such as cocaine, which becomes a "speedball," or mix of a stimulant with a relaxant as drug dealers seek the "perfect high" for their customers, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner said.
Four people went out to party in Newport Beach on Oct. 24, and three ended up dead after "they decided the party should continue with cocaine," Wilkison said.
Unbeknownst to them, the cocaine was laced with fentanyl and only one of the four woke up.
"They became a part of a grim statistic," Wilkison said.
Wilkison noted that the mandatory minimum sentence is 20 years in federal prison for a drug deal resulting in death, and it can go up to life in prison without parole.
All seven defendants being prosecuted in Santa Ana federal court are charged with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
Prosecutors said the defendants are:
-- William Edward Dick Jr., 51, of Costa Mesa: Arrested Thursday for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced cocaine that killed three people in a Balboa Island house on the night of Oct. 24. A criminal complaint alleges that two couples had gathered in Newport Beach, enjoyed a dinner together and one of them decided to purchase cocaine for the group. They eventually contacted Dick,
who agreed to sell them $200 worth of cocaine, which he delivered to the house where the couples were staying. After snorting the purported cocaine, all four suffered overdoses, and three of the individuals were pronounced dead at house the next morning.
-- Omar Alejandro Reynoso, 30, of Costa Mesa: Arrested Monday after a grand jury indicted him last week on two counts of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Reynoso allegedly provided counterfeit Xanax pills containing fentanyl to a man and a woman who died in his hotel room in incidents three weeks apart in November 2019. At his arraignment this week, Reynoso pleaded not guilty and was ordered to stand trial on June 14. A magistrate judge ordered him detained without bond while the case is pending.
-- Tyler David Wilkinson, 23, of Santa Ana: Named in a four-count federal grand jury indictment that alleges he sold counterfeit oxycodone pills to a 17-year-old victim who died in Lake Forest of a fentanyl overdose. The victim purchased the pills in June 2021 after responding to an advertisement Wilkinson posted on Snapchat, the investigation revealed. Six months before the transaction that led to the teen's death, Wilkinson allegedly possessed distribution quantities of several types of narcotics, including nearly 1,400 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. Wilkinson allegedly continued to sell fentanyl-laced pills, even after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence. Wilkinson is currently being sought by authorities.
-- Anthony Bernard Fender, 31, of Tustin: Arrested Monday following a grand jury indictment alleging he sold fentanyl powder that resulted in the death of a 40-year-old man. The indictment further alleges that Fender committed the federal offense after being convicted of a drug trafficking crime in Orange County Superior Court in 2013, which, if proven, would subject Fender to a mandatory life sentence.
-- Carter Joseph Klein, 25, of Newport Beach: Arrested on April 14 after being named in a one-count indictment that accused him of distributing fentanyl that led to the overdose death of an 18-year-old Orange Coast College student. Klein allegedly sold fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills to the victim in February 2021. Klein was arraigned on the indictment on April 15, when he entered a not guilty plea and was ordered to stand trial on June 7.
-- Isai Hernandez "Joker" Higinio, 23, of Santa Ana, was arrested April 1 pursuant to a grand jury indictment alleging he distributed fentanyl in counterfeit Percocet pills to an 18-year-old Tustin resident who died after ingesting the drug. Hernandez was arraigned on April 4, at which time he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bond. A trial is scheduled for May 31.
-- Matthew Benjamin Hurley, 24, of Virginia: Arrested in January on charges alleging that he distributed fentanyl at a motel in Costa Mesa that resulted in a fatal overdose. Hurley, who has been ordered detained without bond, is scheduled to go on trial in Santa Ana on Sept. 27.
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Wilkison said that "drug dealers only care about selling drugs -- they don't care about the consequences to their customers."
Bodner noted that in the past the victims were usually afflicted with drug addictions, but now "recreational users" are at risk because they are acquiring narcotics laced with fentanyl at levels that are deadly. He said some people will arrange to buy a drug such as Xanax through a social media application and then get a pill laced with fentanyl and die.
Part of the problem is some of the people who prepare the fentanyl are "not chemists" and are ill-equipped to ensure it has safe levels of the narcotic, Bodner said.
The fentanyl some people get is at levels 50 times more powerful than heroin, Bodner said.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said he was angered that his attempts to lobby state lawmakers to stiffen criminal penalties for fentanyl traffickers have so far failed. He said the punishment for dealing fentanyl should equal other powerful narcotics such as heroin or cocaine.
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Deaths from fentanyl overdoses have been soaring throughout the state, Barnes said.
In 2013, fentanyl factored into overdose deaths about 4% of the time, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Barnes said. By 2018, the level nationally had risen to 40%. Now it is exceeding 70%, Barnes said.
So far this year, the sheriff has seized 200 pounds of fentanyl, Barnes said.
Because the penalties for dealing fentanyl are not as muscular as other drugs, the sheriff argued that "the cartels have figured this out," and added, "We've created this perverse incentive to traffic this drug."
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