Edwin Rodriguez, Heroin and Fentanyl Possession, New York 2019

Heroin and Fentanyl Bust Lands Amsterdam Man 37 Months in Prison

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Edwin Rodriguez, a/k/a “Chaka,” age 31, of Amsterdam, New York, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for possessing and intending to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl.

The sentencing was handed down by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. Rodriguez will also serve a 4-year term of supervised release, beginning once he is released from prison.

On May 15, 2019, Rodriguez was the subject of a traffic stop in Amsterdam. In pleading guilty, he admitted that he was stopped while driving to meet a drug customer to whom he planned to sell 100 grams of heroin. As Amsterdam Police Officers were arresting Rodriguez for driving with a suspended license, a vacuum-sealed bag of powder fell out of his pant leg. The bag contained 100.3 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl.

Also on May 15, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Rodriguez’s Amsterdam residence. In the apartment’s kitchen, they found an empty bleach bottle, with a hidden compartment containing 1.78 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl, which Rodriguez intended to sell.

This case was investigated by the DEA and the Amsterdam Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith praised the efforts of law enforcement in bringing Rodriguez to justice. “We will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt and dismantle the networks of individuals and organizations that traffic in deadly opioids, and to bring those responsible to account for their crimes,” he said.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/amsterdam-man-sentenced-37-months-heroin-and-fentanyl-conviction