ABINGDON, Va. — A California man who flooded southwestern Virginia with pressed fentanyl pills he bought from a California supplier has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, bringing to an end a complicated case that has sent eight people to prison.
Marco Antonio Orozco, 26, of Costa Mesa, California, pleaded guilty last July to a single count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
In his plea agreement, he admitted to selling between 5,000 and 10,000 of the pills to another man, Alexander Ortiz, 26, of Fullerton, Calif., at least once a month. Ortiz then developed a network of sellers, including at least two people in Wise County.
Ortiz previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 17 years.
Other court records indicate Orozco was buying between 10,000 and 30,000 pills from a third man, Roberto Contreras, 24, of Buena Park, Calif., multiple times a week. Contreras has also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
When authorities raided Orozco’s home, they seized 3.5 pounds of fentanyl pills. Over a three-year period, Orozco helped distribute at least 12 kilograms of fentanyl, which the DEA says is equivalent to potentially 6 million fatal doses.
The conspiracy unraveled when a local dealer, Paul Mason Perkins, 22, of Big Stone Gap, sold pills that caused at least two teenagers to overdose. Perkins later admitted to buying thousands of pills from California, then selling them locally or supplying two other local dealers, Cheyenne Cassie Perkins, 21, of Norton, and Austin Jeremiah Lane, 24, of Norton. All three pleaded guilty and were sentenced to at least three years in prison.
Two other California residents were also ensnared in the scheme and pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. Destiny Perez, 24, was later sentenced to nine years in prison, while Jorge Perez Jr., 25, was sentenced to 42 months.
