Public Safety
Man Caught with Cache of Super Toxic Illegal Drugs Sentenced
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A Perris man who was caught with his girlfriend holding a sizable quantity of manufactured drugs with a potency far greater than most opioids was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison.
Andres Jesus Morales, 31, pleaded guilty last year to possession of controlled substances for sale, child endangerment and a sentence-enhancing allegation of being in possession of more than four kilograms of an illicit drug. In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office dropped six related felony counts against him.
Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the plea agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
Morales’ girlfriend, 28-year-old Alyssa Christine Ponce of Perris, admitted the same charges and was sentenced in July 2022 to two years in prison.
The pair were arrested in September 2021 following an extensive Riverside Police Department investigation that led to the discovery of 21 kilograms of carfentanil.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Riverside police had, since the start of 2021, been investigating a drug trafficking operation involving sales and distribution of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs.
Detectives in August 2021 served a search warrant at a property on Glimmer Way in Perris, where they seized the cache of carfentanil, along with four kilos of coke and one kilo of heroin, prosecutors said.
No one was arrested at the time, but the investigation soon pointed to the defendants as the distributors, according to the D.A.’s office.
The carfentanil find was a shock, the agency said, because the synthetic substance is not intended for human consumption and carries grave risks if consumed on even micro levels.
“It is more potent and potentially much more deadly than fentanyl,” the D.A.’s office said in a statement immediately after the defendants were taken into custody. “Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It only takes about two milligrams of fentanyl to be fatal.
“Carfentanil is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. A lethal dose of carfentanil in humans would be at the nanogram level — much smaller than the two milligrams of fentanyl that can kill. If mixed in with other drugs, the 21 kilos of carfentanil seized could have been enough to potentially kill more than 50 million people.”
Prosecutors did not disclose where the substances may have been procured. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies have confirmed that fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, and channeled by cartels across the border with Mexico.
According to public safety officials, roughly 500 people in Riverside County died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022. That compares to just under 400 in 2021, a 200-fold increase from 2016, when only two such fatalities were documented.
Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 years old.
Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
By: Pristine Villarreal
April 28, 2023
Latest Instagram Posts
Who makes the NBC Top 3, winner will be announced Sunday night on NBC Palm Springs, with the player who makes the number one spot winning a $250 prize from @hondaofthedesert! Comment below if it will be 1) Xzavier Hernandez with the dot towards the back of the endzone, 2) Jesse Rodriguez with the 50 plus yard TD throw, 3) Trace Vargas with the diving TD, 4) Ryan Rumsey with the screen pass TD, making guys miss, or 5) Moyses Aguilar with the pick #fyp #fnl2026 #hondaofthedesert #highschoolfootball #fridaynightlights
Drop your thoughts in the comments 👇 #therogginreport #coachellavalley #localnews #explore #nbcpalmsprings
⚡️ TOP STORY: A man is recovering after he was struck by lightning. Firefighters battled a brush fire along Snow Creek Road, while another lightning strike in Chino Canyon sent a man to the hospital. If you hear thunder, stay indoors for at least 30 minutes after the last rumble. #PalmSprings #Lightning #FireSafety
🚨 Chasing that year-round “summer glow”? A social media tanning trend involving the unapproved peptide melanotan-2 is raising serious safety concerns. Dermatologists say safer sunless tanning options are available. ☀️ #YourHealthToday #SkinHealth #Melanotan2 #TanningSafety
Palm Springs firefighters responded Thursday to a report of a person struck by lightning in the Chino Canyon area. The person was transported to a hospital for medical treatment. Firefighters also responded to a palm tree fire in Chino Canyon that officials say was caused by an apparent lightning strike. NBC Palm Springs News Director David Reese is in the neighborhood tonight knocking on doors and trying to learn more about what happened. Did you see the lightning strike? Did you hear or see anything unusual? Do you know who was struck or have information that could help us understand what happened? We’d like to hear from you. Send us a DM here or contact NBC Palm Springs if you witnessed the incident or have information to share. #PalmSprings #ChinoCanyon #Lightning #PalmSpringsNews #NBCPalmSprings CoachellaValley BreakingNews
Fred Roggin’s response? Show us the receipts! #therogginreport #coachellavalley #localnews #explore #nbcpalmsprings
A $557k budget shortfall … so why do they need $11.3 million in new taxes? Are you voting Yes or No on Measure P? #therogginreport #measurep #localnews #coachellavalley #nbcpalmsprings
School board trustee wears “FAFO” shirt to court deposition. Drop your thoughts in the comments 👇🏽 #therogginreport #coachellavalley #localnews #explore #nbcpalmsprings
Estevan Figueroa of King’s Club Barbershop is giving back across the Coachella Valley — one haircut at a time. He and his team recently gave dozens of free haircuts to kids at the Boys and Girls Club in Cathedral City. Figueroa also provides clothing, essentials and encouragement to people in need. Inspired by lessons from his father, he’s now started a nonprofit to help even more people in the community. “Look good, feel good.” @barbercipactli Read the full story at NBCPalmSprings.com.
9 months. 5 deposition notices. 1 no-show. What is this official hiding under oath? Let us know what you think in the comments 👇 #therogginreport #jesusgonzalez #localnews #coachellavalley #nbcpalmsprings