Defendant Convicted of Transportation of Fentanyl for Sale
DATE: May 4, 2022
CASE: Jose Aguilar-Chavez (Case #21FE015228)
PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Mark Ott, Major Narcotics Unit
Jose Aguilar-Chavez was convicted by a jury of transportation of fentanyl for sale.
On September 2, 2021, CHP officers stopped Aguilar-Chavez for a traffic violation. Upon contact with Aguilar-Chavez the officer noticed an overwhelming smell of rotten fruit and suspected the odor was used to mask the scent of illegal narcotics from his K-9. The officer then deployed his narcotics-sniffing certified K-9 partner. The K-9 alerted on the back passenger compartment of the vehicle. Upon further inspection, the officer discovered 36,000 fabricated “M30” Oxycodone pills. The District Attorney’s Crime Lab analyzed the pills and confirmed they were fake and contained fentanyl. Less than one individual pill can be potentially fatal. The street value of the pills range between $180,000 -$720,000.
Aguilar-Chavez faces a maximum sentence of 5 years county jail prison. Sentencing is set for June 10, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 41 before the Honorable Helena Gweon.
