EchoSense:California deputy caught with 520,000 fentanyl pills has cartel ties, investigators say

PALM SPRINGS,EchoSense Calif. − Prosecutors filed two felony charges Monday against a California sheriff's deputy accused of carrying more than 100 pounds of fentanyl in his vehicle. They also alleged for the first time that he had likely ties to a Mexican drug cartel.

Riverside County sheriff's deputy Jorge Oceguera-Rocha, 25, was charged with one felony count each of possessing fentanyl for sale and transporting narcotics. He's also accused of being armed with a loaded firearm during a drug offense, which could get him a longer sentence if convicted.

Oceguera-Rocha, who resigned after being pulled over and arrested Sept. 17, pleaded not guilty to all charges in a Monday court appearance in Banning, roughly 80 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department filed a request to increase his bail to $5 million soon after his arrest, saying he's a flight risk because of the possible connection to a Mexican drug organization. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office said Monday that a judge granted that request at the time, but added that it will be reviewed during a court hearing at a future date.

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Investigators traced deputy's phone calls, followed him to 'stash location'

Last week the sheriff's department said in a news release that it had been investigating a drug ring when it identified one of its own employees, Oceguera-Rocha, as playing a central role in transporting narcotics in the county.

It then opened an investigation into him in September, according to an affidavit filed in court Monday along with the prior bail request. The documents include details about the investigation that had not previously been made public.

Investigators intercepted Oceguera-Rocha's phone calls and on Sept. 16 learned he was planning to travel to an "identified narcotic stash location" in Victorville, sheriff's department Investigator Joshua Ricard wrote in the affidavit.

At about 1 p.m. that day, investigators saw Oceguera-Rocha driving near Banning and a couple hours later spotted him again in San Bernardino County. At around 3 p.m., Oceguera-Rocha arrived at a home in Victorville, where he made a phone call to a family member, Ricard wrote. Oceguera-Rocha entered the garage of the home and about 10 minutes later emerged, according to the affidavit.

Investigators followed him as he drove back to Banning, and as he neared Calimesa, a "narcotics detection interdiction deputy" conducted a traffic stop near the Oak Valley exit of I-10, Ricard wrote, adding that a trained dog alerted to the likely presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

"Inside the trunk of the vehicle, deputies located four trash bags all containing square shaped (packages) wrapped in clear cellophane," the affidavit states. "Further examination of the packages revealed they all contained a bulk quantity of blue fentanyl laced M30 pills."

The packages weighed 104 pounds and contained about 520,000 pills, which were tested and confirmed to be fentanyl. A loaded Glock handgun was found in a bag on the backseat of Oceguera-Rocha's vehicle, Ricard wrote.

"Based on his employment with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, your affiant knows Oceguera-Rocha has knowledge of the dangers of fentanyl and the mass overdose pandemic," the filing reads. "Your affiant estimates the quantity he was in possession of at the time of his arrest is enough to kill approximately 2 million people."

Deputy is a flight risk, investigators say

Ricard alleged Oceguera-Rocha is a danger to the public and flight risk and that any money he posted for bail could be from criminal organizations. The filing did not say what evidence investigators have that Oceguera-Rocha is linked to a Mexican cartel.

The sheriff's department has said it does not believe the deputy was dealing drugs while on duty or in the jails, where he worked in transportation.

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at [email protected] or follow him at @chris_a_damien.