Jose Anthony Contreras, a 31-year-old resident of Fullerton, California, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his involvement in a narcotics distribution conspiracy. The operation transported tens of thousands of doses of illegal fentanyl from California to the Washington, D.C. area.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Washington Division, and Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division.
Contreras admitted guilt on December 6, 2024, to charges related to conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Besides the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta mandated that Contreras serve five years under supervised release.
Court documents reveal that Contreras was part of a large-scale distribution network responsible for acquiring and distributing fentanyl pills across the United States, including the metropolitan area around Washington, D.C.
Law enforcement officials arrested Contreras at his home on June 18, 2024. During a search warrant execution at his residence, authorities discovered between 600 and 700 fentanyl pills along with $5,700 in cash concealed within a painting's canvas. He has remained in custody since his arrest.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Isabelle Sun, Anthony Scarpelli, and Daniel Seidel from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
