Career Offender Admits To Possessing A Firearm While Trafficking In Heroin
PORTLAND, Ore - Marcelino Lopez-Diaz, 25, of Nayarit, Mexico, appeared on September 4, 2014, in U.S. District Court and entered guilty pleas to possession with the intent to distribute heroin in quantities of one kilogram or more and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The maximum sentence on both charges is life and both carry mandatory minimum sentences of ten and five years respectively. The mandatory five year sentence for the firearm charge must run consecutive to the 10 year drug sentence. Lopez-Diaz is scheduled to appear for sentencing on December 11, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones.
On November 7, 2012, several members of the Hillsboro Police Department and the Washington County Westside Interagency Narcotics (WIN) responded to a residence in Hillsboro, Oregon where Jeremy Mollet was found lying on the floor of a locked bathroom. A spoon and syringe were found nearby. Mollet was transported to Tuality Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner noticed fresh puncture marks on Mollet’s foot which were consistent with injection sites. An autopsy report confirmed that Mollet died from the combined toxic effects of heroin and oxycodone.
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration were able to quickly examine Mollet’s cellular phone and observed a number of text messages describing his last heroin purchase. After speaking with Mollet’s girlfriend, agents were able to identify the person who last supplied the heroin that resulted in his death. From there, agents conducted an investigation into the chain of distribution. The investigation produced five co-conspirators that ended with Lopez-Diaz.
On November 11, 2012, agents executed a search warrant at the residence of Lopez-Diaz. As agents entered the residence, Lopez-Diaz flushed narcotics down the toilet drain. Agents located and seized over two pounds of heroin, two digital scales, packaging materials, approximately $28,000 in cash, and a Beretta 9mm firearm with five rounds of ammunition. Lopez-Diaz admitted having prior convictions for delivering controlled substances and that he was selling heroin in order to send money home to his mother in Mexico.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Westside Interagency Narcotics Team, and the Oregon State Medical Examiner.
