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Date: 04-21-2023
Case Style:
Case Number: 4:22-cr-02230
Judge: James A. Soto
Court: United States District Court for the District of Arizona (Pima County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in Tucson
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Tucson, Arizona criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
In September of 2022, Luis Ernesto Morales-Reyes, age 38, of Phoenix, Arizona, agreed to deliver approximately 99,500 fentanyl pills to an individual in Tucson who, unbeknownst to Morales-Reyes, was an undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On September 15, 2022, Morales-Reyes drove from Phoenix to Tucson with the fentanyl and met with the agent. After delivering the pills, Morales-Reyes was arrested, and agents found a loaded 9mm handgun in his possession. After his arrest, Morales-Reyes admitted to making multiple prior deliveries of narcotics on behalf of a Phoenix-based drug trafficking organization.
As part of its One Pill Can Kill public service campaign, the DEA recently announced that six out of every 10 fentanyl-laced pills tested in 2022 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl (https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratory-testing-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fake-prescription-pills-now-contain).
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Culver, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 78 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: