Man Arrested for Dealing Deadly Fentanyl to High Schoolers
A 31-year-old illegal alien has been arrested in Loudoun County, Virginia, after investigators linked him to fentanyl pills associated with the overdoses of two Park View High School students, according to authorities.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office arrested Isaac Melendez-Carranza last week following an investigation that began after two students overdosed in May.
Melendez-Carranza was charged with two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of sale of drugs near certain properties.
Both students survived, but only after Narcan was administered. Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, is used to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Investigators subsequently identified Melendez-Carranza as an alleged drug dealer connected to the pills involved in the two overdoses.
When authorities arrested him, they allegedly found considerably more than a small quantity of fentanyl pills.
“We found that the subject in question, Isaac Melendez-Carranza, actually had over 100 fentanyl pills with him at the time, in addition to several thousand dollars,” Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman told NBC Washington News4.
Chapman said the circumstances suggested another drug transaction could have been imminent.
“So, looked to me like he was getting ready to do another delivery to somebody,” the sheriff said.
The arrest also brought Melendez-Carranza’s immigration status into the case.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed that Melendez-Carranza is an illegal alien who has been in the United States for approximately a decade. ICE has since lodged an immigration detainer against him.
An ICE detainer generally asks the law enforcement agency holding an individual to notify federal immigration authorities before release so ICE can potentially assume custody.
That creates another element in the case because Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, has asked local law enforcement agencies not to cooperate with ICE.
For now, however, Melendez-Carranza remains in local custody at the Loudoun County Detention Center.