Source: Dallas Morning News Pubdate: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com Author: Linda Stewart Ball / The Dallas Morning News 29 SUSPECTED DRUG DEALERS INDICTED Plano targeted as market for heroin PLANO - More than two dozen suspected drug dealers have been indicted under a special federal conspiracy law in connection with the heroin-related deaths of four teenagers with ties to Plano, officials announced Wednesday. A federal grand jury in Sherman issued the 36-count indictment. It alleges that the 29 targeted Plano as a new market for heroin. The defendants knew that the drug was killing young people but continued selling it to them, the indictment charges. "The defendants intentionally, in a very calculated and coldblooded way, distributed" heroin and cocaine, said U.S. Attorney Mike Bradford of the Eastern District of Texas in announcing the indictments Wednesday. "We will be seeking the maximum punishment under federal law," he said. Although some of the defendants have been named in previous indictments on charges of heroin delivery on a single occasion, the latest indictment charges all 29 as a group in activities that include everything from smuggling black tar heroin into the United States to selling it on the streets of Plano. Because they were charged as a group, the suspected dealers can be prosecuted together, and the punishments possible are much more severe, given the resulting deaths, Mr. Bradford said. All but five of the 29 could face a maximum term of life in prison because of a rarely used sentencing-enhancement provision under federal law that was not available at the state level. "This is the first time we've used this provision of the law in the Eastern District to specifically link drug dealing to drug-overdose deaths," Mr. Bradford said. The Eastern District includes 43 counties across Texas but excludes Dallas County. "To date, throughout the U.S., something to this degree has never been attempted," said Paul Villaescusa, a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Dallas. "Efforts similar to this one have been tried before on a much smaller scale" in two other states. The indictment was the result of a yearlong investigation begun by the Plano Police Department and expanded to include a task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Officials from several of those agencies on Wednesday praised the Plano community and Plano police for an innovative approach to tackling the heroin problem. At least 18 youths with Plano ties have died heroin-related deaths since September 1994, authorities said. Police traditionally categorize drug-related deaths as accidental, due to overdose, and consider the case closed, Mr. Villaescusa said. But Plano went beyond that, he said. In June 1997, Plano Police Chief Bruce Glasscock assigned a homicide detective to investigate the deaths along with the narcotics unit. Although the chief said he wanted to pursue murder charges against the drug dealers, he was thwarted by state laws. Unless a drug dealer actually injects or otherwise administers the fatal dose, he or she can't be charged with homicide, under state laws, the chief said. But the federal sentencing enhancement may be a way around that roadblock, authorities said. "It's the next best thing," Chief Glasscock said. "These indictments and arrests send a clear message to those individuals who would import and traffic in illegal narcotics. Their actions will not be tolerated, and we will continue to use every means at our disposal to identify those suppliers and take appropriate steps necessary to prosecute them." "I think the federal prosecution in this type of situation is really the way to go," said Collin County District Attorney Tom O'Connell, noting that most of the defendants would face a maximum of 20 years in prison at the state level. Mr. Bradford declined to reveal the evidence that directly links the indicted individuals to the deaths of four Plano teens. The indictment alleges that the dealers used various methods to import the heroin and cocaine from Mexico, including hiding it in shoes with false compartments. They distributed large quantities to individuals and through a house known as the Blue House in east Plano, authorities say. All but two of those indicted are in custody. One is in a rehabilitation center and will be transferred to jail; another remains at large. Named in the criminal indictment on a variety of charges related to the possession and distribution of cocaine or heroin are: Ecliserio Martinez Garcia, 38; Aurelio Mendez, 36; Salvador "Chino" Pineda Contreras, 26; Jose Antonio Pineda, 22; and Irma Lopez Vega, 24, all of McKinney; Hilario "Cocho" Merlan Solis, 30; Jose Cleotilde Solis, 24; Marcruz Baldonvines Pineda, 26; Arturo "Junior" Meza, 22; Jose "Beefy" Alberto Meza, 20; and Francisco "Dreamer" Favela, 20; Edward Martinez, 32; Santiago Mejia, 18; John Aaron Pruett, 19; John Raymond Hancock, 29; Brian Eric Swann, 23; Christopher Erik Cooper, 19; James Lee Wigginton, 21; Lloyd Steven Tilghman, 20; Stanley Edward Belch, 20; and John Huges Woodward, 20, all of Plano; Justin Michael Miller, 21, of Allen and Steven Craig Kapp, 20, of Dallas. The following four were indicted on a lesser charge of using a telephone with the intent to distribute heroin and could face a maximum of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine: Thomas Anthony Fedele, 20, and Brian Kirpal Hutson, 21, both of Plano, and Benjamin Collins, 21 and Cruz Ramirez, 19, both of Dallas. Jason Ryan Deshong, 21, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on a charge of possessing heroin and cocaine with the intent to distribute. "For us, this doesn't end it," Chief Glasscock said. Lowell Hill, whose 19-year-old son, Rob, died of a heroin overdose on Aug. 20, 1997, said he was pleased with officials' quick action. "We just don't want other people to die," he said, stressing that he and his wife were in favor of drug testing for children as early as the fourth grade. Donna Scott, whose son, Wes, 19, died from heroin on July 24, 1997, said she was not seeking justice. "But I did breathe a deep sigh of relief," she said, knowing that authorities "didn't just get the kids who were partying." "I'm glad there's something they can use to shut down the operations. I feel very bad for the victims who are caught in the spider web" of drug abuse," Ms. Scott said. Jean Aguanno, whose son, Jay, 19, died of a heroin overdose on July 7 after having been sober for eight months, said that she was in favor of strong prosecution but that it came too late for her family. "I kind of wish all this had happened a year ago so whoever was able to supply Jay that night was already in jail," she said. - --- Checked-by: "Rich O'Grady"