Man Sentenced for Sale of Fentanyl and Illegal Possession of Firearms
ALEXANDRIA, Va., – A Manassas man was sentenced today to 142 months in prison for selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl in addition to illegally possessing and selling firearms.
According to court documents, Richard Michael Perez, 26, was identified by law enforcement around September of 2020 as a source of supply for various narcotics. During transactions spanning September 2020 through June of 2021, Perez sold nearly 1,000 pills containing fentanyl to an undercover law enforcement agent. During the course of the sales, Perez mentioned that he owned firearms, and, in April of 2021, sold a semi-automatic rifle to the undercover law enforcement agent.
In June of 2021, Perez was taken into custody and a search of his residence revealed additional narcotics, a privately manufactured firearm devoid of a serial number or other unique identifier, various ammunition, and over $9,000 in cash. Perez had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses in Virginia and was thus prohibited from possessing firearms at the time of this offense.
Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division; Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police; Peter Newsham, Prince William County Chief of Police; and Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston.
