Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Illegal Alien and North Carolina Woman Plead Guilty To Fentanyl Possession
Gulfport, Miss. – Uriel Adolfo Rayo-Dominguez, 19, a citizen of Mexico, and Jennifer Castillo, 18, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam.
On October 11, 2017, a Gulfport police officer initiated a traffic stop for careless driving on a vehicle driven by Rayo-Dominguez. Castillo was a passenger in the vehicle. The officer detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and conducted a search. During the search of the vehicle, 7,041 grams of fentanyl was located in the trunk liner of the vehicle. Rayo-Dominguez and Castillo were arrested and charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Rayo-Dominguez and Castillo will be sentenced on May 31, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. by Judge Guirola. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the DEA with assistance fromthe Gulfport Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shundral H. Cole.