MAN CHARGED WITH DISTRIBUTING HEROIN LACED WITH FENTANYL THAT KILLED FOUR PLEADS GUILTY

An illegal alien living in Philadelphia has pleaded guilty in federal court in Harrisburg to distributing heroin laced with fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of four individuals locally last February.

Acting United States Attorney Martin C. Carlson announced that Caesar Pena-Hernandez, 39, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, entered a plea of guilty on Wednesday before the Honorable John E. Jones in United States District Court in Harrisburg. Pena-Hernandez admitted to involvement in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl that resulted in death. United States Attorney Carlson said that the penalty for that offense is a mandatory-minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Co-defendants Enrique Ramos-Sanchez and Felix Ortiz-Garcia have already pleaded guilty to their involvement in the distribution of the heroin and fentanyl and are awaiting sentencing. Two other individuals who were indicted along with Pena-Hernandez, Ramos-Sanchez and Ortiz-Garcia are scheduled to be tried in federal court in Harrisburg in February.

According to Carlson, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration were working early in 2007 with various state, county and local law enforcement agencies after a number of deaths and overdoses resulted from the ingestion of heroin and fentanyl. After making several arrests and conducting several searches they were able to determine that Ramos-Sanchez was obtaining the drugs from Pena-Hernandez in Philadelphia and distributing them in Harrisburg through others whom he supplied. After his arrest in June of 2007, Pena-Hernandez admitted to being the source of supply of the drugs for Ramos-Sanchez. Indicted only as “John Doe” and “Aventura,” investigators were able to learn his true identity after his arrest and that he was illegally in the United States from the Dominican Republic.

United States Attorney Carlson praised the work of the investigating agencies: “This conviction again reaffirms the close working relationships that have been forged by the various agencies involved. Working independently, success would be difficult if not unattainable. Working together, we have a substantial reservoir of skills, resources and dedication to draw from to combat the scourge of drug trafficking.” The Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania State Police, the Dauphin County Drug Task Force, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, Harrisburg Police and the Harrisburg Police Vice Unit, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, the Cumberland County Drug Task Force and other agencies all participated in the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney William A. Behe, who is assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, supervised the investigation and is handling the prosecution of these cases.

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An Indictment or Information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the Grand Jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged Defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.