A 42-year-old man accused of selling large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine out of his Perris home was charged Wednesday with transportation of controlled substances for sale and other offenses.
Miguel Angel Lopez was arrested Friday following a Riverside County Sheriffs Department investigation.
Along with the transportation count, Lopez was charged with possession of drugs for sale, illegal possession of a collapsible baton, child endangerment and possession of ammunition while engaged in narcotics sales.
The defendant, who is being held in lieu of $350,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, was slated to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to sheriff’s officials, Lopez came under investigation earlier this month after deputies were informed of possible drug trafficking at his home in the 1000 block of Ruby Drive, near Mildred Street.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Kamal Kabbara said Special Enforcement Bureau investigators served a search warrant at the property early Friday afternoon.
“They located and seized hundreds of multi-colored fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, methamphetamine, and thousands of dollars in cash,” Kabbara said. “Additionally, deputies seized ballistic panels, ammunition and a collapsible baton. At the residence, deputies discovered a 12-year-old child alone in the vicinity of the narcotics.”
The youth, whose relationship to the defendant was not specified, was placed in the care of county Child Protective Services staff.
Lopez was taken into custody without incident.
According to court records, he has prior misdemeanor convictions for possession of controlled substances and illegal alteration of a firearm. He has no felony priors.
Preliminary data released by the county Department of Public Health showed there were 388 confirmed fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2023, a 23% decline from 2022, when there were 503.
Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the synthetic opioid is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels.
The drug is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.