SAN DIEGO – OptumRx Inc., a prescription drug benefit provider, has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve allegations that it improperly filled certain opioid prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The settlement resolves an investigation initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into whether, between April 2013...

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that two individuals have been charged with murder in connection with the fentanyl overdose death of 31-year-old Connor Gerhart. Defendants Sheri Cavanaugh, 59, and her co-conspirator, Micah Seau, 31, are both charged with murder and conspiracy to commit a crime. The...

SAN DIEGO – Palomar Health, a California public health care district located in San Diego County, has paid $250,000 to resolve allegations of diversion of fentanyl from one of its facilities and failure to keep accurate records for fentanyl. Palomar Health is California’s largest health care district, with campuses in...

SAN DIEG O - Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Hernandez, who admitted that he took bribes to smuggle methamphetamine and people across the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty, was sentenced in federal court today to 87-months in prison. Hernandez pleaded guilty in January, admitting that he agreed to use...

PHOENIX, Ariz. - DEA and its local law enforcement partners collected 5,702 pounds of unused medications in Arizona during the 26th National Drug Take Back Day on April 27, 2024. This is an increase from last October of 5,414 pounds collected. Nationwide, 670,136 pounds of unused medications were turned in...

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Angel Valencia-Avendano, 20, of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, was sentenced last week by United States Chief District Judge G. Murray Snow to 84 months in prison. Valencia-Avendano pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl. On March 6, 2023, Valencia-Avendano was arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking...

SAN DIEG O - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Bryan Kim Bullard and Cameron William Fulston with distributing the fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 25-year-old Carlsbad woman. According to court records, on September 10, 2023, at approximately 12:23 a.m., San Diego Police Department...

SAN DIEG O - Luis Reinaldo Ramirez of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced in federal court today to 120 months in prison for his role as a leader in a transnational criminal organization that laundered $16.5 million dollars in narcotics proceeds for the Sinaloa Cartel. Ramirez was also sentenced for his...

(PHOENIX) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Phoenix Division and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes are Huddling Up with NFL Alumni Health and Rise Up Glendale this Friday, May 17th to raise awareness and bring the community together to save lives. This community outreach and educational opportunity aims to provide...

SAN DIEG O - Scott Anthony Sargent of San Diego appeared in federal court today to face charges that he distributed the fentanyl that resulted in the deaths of two victims in North Park in 2022. During the same incident, Sargent and another person also overdosed but survived. Sargent is...