LOS ANGELES – A Downey man is in federal custody today after being arrested on federal charges of selling counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl to a 17-year-old Downey female who suffered a fatal overdose from the synthetic opioid.
Jonathan Limas-Reyes, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon by special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Limas-Reyes was ordered detained pending trial during an arraignment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court.
A federal grand jury on August 19 charged Limas-Reyes in a two-count indictment that accuses him of distributing fentanyl resulting in death and possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute to a person under 21. Limas-Reyes pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment and an October 18 trial date was scheduled.
The indictment alleges that, on or about October 29, 2021, Limas-Reyes sold the victim the fentanyl-laced pills, “the use of which resulted in the death and serious bodily injury of victim A.K.”
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life. The charge of distribution of fentanyl to a person under age 21 carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year and a maximum statutory penalty of life.
The DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division is investigating this matter. The Downey Police Department provided substantial assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi Allsop and David Williams of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Justice Task Force, which was created to address opioid-related deaths in the greater Los Angeles area, most of which are caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Under the Overdose Justice program for the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, DEA agents collaborate with local law enforcement to analyze evidence to determine if there are circumstances that might lead to a federal criminal prosecution, and, if so, proactively target the drug trafficker.