Armed-robbery arrest leads to fentanyl find, Sacramento County sheriff’s detectives say
Sacramento County sheriff’s detectives said they found more than half of a pound of fentanyl in the hotel room of a man suspected in an armed robbery earlier this month at a gas station.
Adrian Lance Rayford, 57, was arrested in connection with the Jan. 9 robbery, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday in a news release. Sheriff’s officials said the fentanyl discovered in the room was enough to produce 125,000 lethal doses.
The armed robbery occurred about 11:45 p.m. at a gas station on Walerga Road in north Sacramento County. Sheriff’s officials said the suspect threatened an employee with a gun and a hunting knife, before stealing money and merchandise from the gas station and leaving in a black four-door vehicle with a red sticker where a license plate should have been.
About 3:45 a.m. Jan. 13, deputies spotted a black 2006 Infiniti with a red sticker where the license plate should’ve been. The deputies approached the car and spotted Rayford, whom they said they recognized from previous encounters with law enforcement. Sheriff’s officials said the deputies knew Rayford was on probation and detained him.
The deputies conducted a probation search of the car and found an unloaded and unregistered handgun, multiple containers of marijuana, promethazine (a pharmaceutical drug used to treat nausea and some allergy symptoms), various assorted pills and cash, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Robbery detectives were called to the scene, and they conducted a search of Rayford’s hotel room, where the fentanyl was found, sheriff’s officials said.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, can come in pills, powder and vape pens, and 2 milligrams can provide a lethal dose. Fentanyl can shut down breathing, cause cardiac arrest and kill within minutes. Authorities have said prescription pills such as Xanax, Percocet and Oxycodone purchased from somewhere other than a pharmacy are likely fake and potentially deadly.
On Friday, Rayford remained in custody at the Sacramento County Jail. He faces a charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun, and a first-degree robbery charge against him was still pending, jail records show.
