Federal grand jury indicts Sacramento-area men in fentanyl, meth and heroin case
A federal grand jury has indicted two Sacramento-area men accused of distributing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, that resulted in at least one overdose, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.
Steven Lawrence Robinson, 34, of Granite Bay, and Nathaniel Opondo Hubbert, 39, of Grass Valley, were indicted Thursday, federal prosecutors announced in a news release. The prosecutors said the person who overdosed had to be given medical treatment.
Federal authorities began investigating Hubbert after the Lincoln Police Department told the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sacramento District Office that there were three reported overdoses on June 18 in the area of Roseville and Rocklin, according to a criminal complaint filed July 6 in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California.
All three people who overdosed that day survived after receiving medical treatment. They included one person who received two doses of Narcan, a nasal spray medication to restore breathing to those suffering opiate overdoses.
One of them later told authorities that the drugs that led to the overdose were purchased from Hubbert, who was supplied by Robinson, according to the complaint.
Two of the overdoses were suspected to have been caused by black tar heroin, while the other overdose was suspected to have been caused by “China White” fentanyl, DEA Agent Kevin Rundle wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint.
Law enforcement officials found one of the people who overdosed in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with the gearshift in the drive position and his foot on the brake, according to the complaint.
The prosecutors said Robinson and Hubbert conspired to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl from June 2 through June 24, according to the indictment that supersedes the criminal complaint.
Robinson also has been charged with two counts of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl.
Hubbert also has been charged with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute a detectable amount of heroin and fentanyl, according to the indictment.
If convicted of the conspiracy and fentanyl possession charges or the meth possession charge, the defendants could each face a minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum sentence 40 years in federal prison, along with a $5 million fine, according to prosecutors.
Hubbert, if convicted, could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine for the heroin and fentanyl distribution charge.
