from Statesman.com
Drug found at one home linked to a death earlier this year.
By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Austin police have charged 12 people, including two senior citizens, with drug distribution after investigating a spike in heroin overdose deaths this year.
Cmdr. Sean Mannix said most of the suspects are accused of trafficking heroin. Detectives linked drugs seized from the home of two of the suspects to the overdose death of a person in March, he said.
The suspects, who officials said operated independently of one another, “represents a large portion of the heroin dealers in Austin,” Mannix said. “Twelve people for a fairly small market is quite a bit.”
Authorities identified the suspects as: Alejandro Arredondo Gomez, 69; Luis Evans, 74; Robert Winston, 47; John Ellis, 21; Victor Maddox, 38; Nathan Russell, 34; Michael Espinoza, 39; Tondra Daily, 20; Oscar Augustine Gonzalez, 39; Jesse Salas, 50; Michael Salas, 48; and Michael Luna, 45.
Most are charged with delivery of a controlled substance, which ranges from first-degree to state jail felonies depending on the amount of drugs seized.
Police began investigating after five people died during a one-week period in March - an unusually high number in such a short time, Mannix said. They worked with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and found the suspects through interviews and undercover operations.
Mannix said heroin taken from the home of Jesse and Michael Salas was a match for heroin found in the death of a person this year. He did not know other details about the death, including the victim’s identity.
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