The United States Department of Justice sends this information as posted below:
OKLAHOMA CITY – January 4, 2024 – Yesterday, CRISTOBAL CALDERON, 28, of Oklahoma City, was sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison for drug conspiracy and for being a drug user in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
“Fentanyl is destroying lives every day, devastating families and communities,” said U. S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. “My office is committed to protect the public from further harm by aggressively pursuing those who dispense this deadly poison. I commend the Postal Inspection Service and DEA for their tireless commitment to fight this fentanyl epidemic.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service values our partnership with the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Oklahoma, who held Calderon responsible for his dangerous activity,” said Kai Pickens, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Fort Worth Division. “The Postal Service has no interest in being the unwitting accomplice to anyone using the U.S. Mail to distribute illegal drugs. Our Contraband Interdiction and Investigations program focuses on ensuring these dangerous and deadly synthetic opioids stay out of neighborhoods across America. These crimes are a priority for Postal Inspectors and demonstrate the importance of our mission that includes the safeguarding of the Postal Service, its customers, and preventing the illegal use of the U.S. Mail.”
“As we continue to lose lives by this fentanyl epidemic, know that any pill, regardless of color, shape, or size that you purchase on the street must be treated as if it were potentially deadly illicit fentanyl,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas, which oversees operations in Oklahoma. “Mr. Calderon is being held accountable for the poison that found its way into our community by his hand. Whether it is one pill of fentanyl or 1,000, the DEA will never cease its efforts to rid these drugs from the streets of Oklahoma.”
On February 14, 2023, Calderon was charged by Superseding Information with drug conspiracy and being a drug user in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on November 3, 2022, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) intercepted a package believed to contain a controlled substance. USPIS authorities searched the package and located more than 2 kilograms worth of counterfeit Oxycodone pills, which later tested positive for fentanyl. The complaint describes the pills as being “rainbow fentanyl.” The Drug Enforcement Administration has advised (https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2022/08/30/dea-warns-brightly-colored-fentanyl-used-target-young-americans) that “rainbow fentanyl” is dyed into a variety of bright colors to avoid detection and to make the highly addictive drug more appealing to young people.
Days after the onset of the investigation, public record reflects that an individual called a U.S. Post Office in Oklahoma City to inquire on the above-mentioned package. On November 8, 2022. Calderon picked-up the package and was arrested shortly thereafter at an Oklahoma City motel. At the time of his arrest, authorities located a firearm in Calderon’s waistband.
On April 4, 2023, Calderon pleaded guilty and admitted to (1) possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute the substance and (2) possessing a handgun while being a user of illegal drugs.
At the sentencing hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Calderon to serve 78 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Judge DeGiusti noted the especially dangerous nature of fentanyl. Calderon has been in federal custody since November 14, 2022.
This case is the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Pratt and Daniel Gridley prosecuted the case.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
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