SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — In the wake of a death and several overdoses, three teens have been charged by federal prosecutors with selling fentanyl to high school students in Monterey County.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds announced that 18-year-old Benjamin Reily Bliss; 19-year-old Louis Alexander (aka Lulu) and 19-year-old Brandon William Carranza-Arthur were all charged with drug distribution charges in federal court on Monday.
If convicted of all the charges, Bliss faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison. Alexander and Carranza, meanwhile, face a maximum term of four years.
According to the criminal complaints, the investigation began as early as October of 2021 but took a turn after a 15-year-old Pacific Grove youth suffered a fatal overdose on March 5th.
Evidence collected at the scene established that the juvenile overdosed from inhaling the smoke from a pulverized counterfeit “M30” pill.
Subsequent investigation resulted in the charges being filed against Bliss, Carranza and Alexander.
The complaint against Bliss alleges that as part of the investigation, law enforcement officers interviewed a second juvenile who also had overdosed, but survived.
Text messages from the surviving juvenile’s cell phone established that on March 20, Bliss provided transportation for the juvenile to San Francisco, where a baggie containing fentanyl in the form of a multicolored powdery/rocky substance was purchased.
The juvenile allegedly paid $250 for the drugs which, after using them, triggered a non-fatal overdose on March 23.
The complaint against Alexander alleges that he used Snapchat to advertise, offer, and sell fentanyl-based counterfeit oxycodone and Xanax pills to students.
In October 2021, one of the juveniles he is believed to have supplied suffered a non-fatal overdose. While the juvenile was recovering in the hospital, the juvenile’s mother discovered Snapchat messages on a cellular phone that the juvenile used.
The Snapchat messages were about drug sales and were between the juvenile and a person named “lulu.”
According to the complaint, investigators later identified “lulu” as Alexander. In addition, the mother of yet another local high school student reported that “numerous students [ ] are using and addicted to ‘percocets,'”and that “lulu” is a known as a supplier of these “blue pills” at the student’s high school.
Similarly, the complaint filed against Carranza alleges that investigators obtained text messages between Carranza and a student establishing that Carranza played a role in supplying drugs.
According to the complaint, Carranza provided information regarding how a student should take counterfeit prescription drugs. The complaint describes numerous text messages in which a juvenile admits he was having intense cravings for drugs and Carranza negotiates the price and quantity of pills that could be supplied.
In one exchange, the juvenile offers to pay Carranza $60 for $50 worth of pills if Carranza would front the money.
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