A former Long Beach first responder who worked at a local hospital was sentenced to 352 months in prison for selling fentanyl to coworkers who thought they were buying cocaine.
Cruz Noel Quintero, 43, of Long Beach, was found guilty of one count of distributing fentanyl resulting in death, one count of possessing machine guns, two counts of possessing unregistered firearms, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
According to evidence presented at trial, Quintero began shipping cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs across the country in February 2018. He distributed them locally out of a Long Beach residence.
In May 2019, Quintero sold a white powder he claimed was cocaine for $100 to a hospital coworker in the parking lot outside the hospital’s emergency room. The following morning, the couple sampled the white powder and both passed out. One of the victims, identified as ‘S.F.,’ later died due to fentanyl toxicity.
Law enforcement searched two residences in Long Beach and discovered Quintero’s illicit drug-trafficking operation. They found 13 firearms, including two machine guns, two short-barreled assault rifles, and nine other guns, some of which were loaded.
Quintero has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the fatal overdose in May 2019. Judge Christina A. Snyder sentenced him to 292 months in prison for the fentanyl death count, 120 months in prison for the firearms counts, and 240 months in federal prison for maintaining a drug premises count. She also sentenced him to 60 months in prison for possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles and Minneapolis, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Long Beach Police Department.
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- Jason Roon, Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Trafficking, Tennessee 2023 · Kansas
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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