SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced brothers Jose Raymer Tejeda, age 38, and Edwin Tejeda, age 32, to 188 months of imprisonment each, for running a fentanyl and cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Both men were residents of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, prior to being incarcerated on the instant offenses.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the Tejeda brothers previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and 400 grams and more of fentanyl, which resulted in death. The Tejeda brothers operated the conspiracy to distribute significant quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in the Wilkes-Barre region and elsewhere, between approximately January 2016 and February 2020. On Sept. 19, 2019, James Garris, Jr., a drug dealer in the Tejeda brothers’ drug trafficking organization, distributed fentanyl to James Tindol, Jr., who subsequently distributed the fentanyl to an individual identified as A.V. Shortly after ingesting the fentanyl, A.V. overdosed and died.
In addition to Edwin Tejeda and Jose Raymer Tejeda, five other former Luzerne County men associated with their drug trafficking organization have been charged and convicted in the broader investigation, for various fentanyl, cocaine, and tramadol trafficking offenses, including fentanyl trafficking that resulted in death:
1. Emilio Tejeda, age 33, a third brother, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 57 months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl;
2. James Tindol, Jr., age 38, formerly of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl that resulted in death;
3. James Garris, Jr., age 52, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 168 months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl that resulted in death;
4. Kearon Brinson, age 41, formerly of West Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 41 months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and marijuana; and
5. Lamont Hubbard, age 50, formerly of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to a time served term of approximately 26 months after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and marijuana.
As part of the sentencings, Judge Mariani ordered forfeiture of over $25,000, and various firearms, ammunition, and property seized during the investigation.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Luzerne Country Drug Task Force, and the Kingston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys