A May 12 trial date was set Tuesday for a 55-year-old man accused of transporting more than $230,000 worth of cocaine and fentanyl into Riverside County.
Jose Isabel Ramirez is charged with two counts each of possession of controlled substances for sale and transportation of narcotics for sale, with multiple sentence-enhancing allegations of possessing more than one kilogram of cocaine.
During a trial-setting conference at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, the prosecution and defense conferred with Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson, and the parties agreed to delay trial proceedings until May due to ongoing doubts about the ability to convene a jury in the next several months in light of coronavirus public health concerns.
Former county Presiding Judge John Vineyard ordered a suspension of jury trials in early December, and then again last week. The earliest possible time for initiating criminal or civil jury proceedings is now the first week of February. However, that timetable could change again, depending on the circumstances.
Ramirez, who is free on a $250,000 bond, was taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop on Interstate 15 in Temecula on Oct. 9, 2019.
According to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco, agents spotted the defendant’s 2009 Ford Escape on the northbound I-15, heading into Temecula, and stopped him that afternoon based on unspecified suspicions of illegal activity.
While questioning Ramirez, the patrolmen noticed unusual patterns in the rear seat head supports, prompting a search of the defendant’s compact SUV, Francisco said. He alleged that metal boxes were discovered in the head supports, and stuffed inside the boxes were a dozen plastic-wrapped packages.
“Nine of the packages contained fentanyl and weighed 22 pounds, which is enough doses to kill more than 5 million people,” the agent said. “The remaining three packages contained cocaine and weighed 2.64 pounds. The drugs carried a combined estimated street value of $236,400.”
Ramirez was arrested without incident, and the seized drugs were turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.