Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SAN DIEGO – Danny Nunez of San Diego was sentenced in federal court today to 188 months in prison for providing the fentanyl that resulted in the fatal overdose of a 25-year-old Escondido woman in 2024.
Nunez admitted in his plea agreement that he sold fentanyl to the victim, identified in court records as L.P., on September 11, 2024. The next day, her parents found her lifeless body in her bedroom. Emergency responders were unable to revive her.
On October 3, 2024, Escondido Police Department detectives posing as L.P. contacted Nunez, asking to purchase fentanyl. The defendant agreed to provide the requested fentanyl. The same day, the detectives arrived at Nunez’s residence and contacted the defendant. Nunez was arrested as he walked outside to meet “L.P.” carrying two baggies containing 7.67 grams and 1.23 grams of fentanyl.
“The defendant stole a young life and shattered a family by peddling deadly fentanyl,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Today’s sentence sends a clear and powerful message: Those who traffic in poison will be held fully accountable for the devastation they cause.”
“Those who bring dangerous drugs into our communities, especially fentanyl, will be held accountable,” said Shawn Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Diego. “This investigation is an example of the strong partnerships between our state and local law enforcement partners that make up the San Diego Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST). FAST is committed to ensuring the individuals who distribute fentanyl into our communities are held accountable.”
“The San Diego Imperial Valley HIDTA proudly supports federal, state and local law enforcement efforts to reduce overdose deaths in our community,” said David King, executive director of San Diego and Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. “Those individuals who place a priority on profits from drug sales over public safety should take notice that the criminal justice system will hold them accountable. San Diego County is a safer place after this investigation and successful prosecution.”
Escondido Police Lt. Ryan Hicks stated: “The Escondido Police Department works aggressively to identify and hold accountable anyone who chooses to participate in the poisoning of our community through illicit fentanyl distribution. We can successfully conduct these investigations through crucial support from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and our federal partnerships.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Van Demark.
Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST) led this investigation.
HSI San Diego FAST is a multiagency task force comprising state, local, and federal partners and was first established in August 2022 focusing on the disruption and dismantlement of criminal organizations that smuggle and distribute fentanyl within San Diego County. HSI’s FAST targets fentanyl smuggling and distribution networks to combat overdoses and decrease the availability and accessibility of fentanyl.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). There are currently 33 HIDTAs, and HIDTA-designated counties are located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 24-CR-2295-W
Danny Nunez Age: 25 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Attempted Distribution of Fentanyl
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
Escondido Police Department
San Diego Imperial Valley HIDTA