A 42-year-old man who sold large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine out of his Perris home pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of controlled substances for sale and other offenses and was immediately sentenced to two years in state prison.
Miguel Angel Lopez admitted the possession count and a charge of child endangerment under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped three related felony charges against Lopez.
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Thursday, Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
According to sheriff’s officials, Lopez came under investigation in early February after deputies were informed of drug trafficking at his home in the 1000 block of Ruby Drive, near Mildred Street.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Kamal Kabbara said that Special Enforcement Bureau investigators served a search warrant at the property on the afternoon of Feb. 16 and “located and seized hundreds of multi-colored fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, methamphetamine and thousands of dollars in cash.”
“Additionally, deputies seized ballistic panels, ammunition and a collapsible baton,” Kabbara said. “At the residence, deputies discovered a 12-year-old child alone in the vicinity of the narcotics.”
The youth, whose identity was not disclosed and whose relationship to the defendant was not specified, was placed in the care of county Child Protective Services staff.
Lopez was taken into custody without incident.
According to court records, he had prior misdemeanor convictions for possession of controlled substances and illegal alteration of a firearm. He had no felony priors.
Preliminary data released earlier this year by the Department of Public Health showed there were 388 confirmed fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2023, a 23% decline from 2022, when there were 503.
Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the synthetic opioid is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels.
The drug is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45 years old.