DA Zappala challenging release of alleged drug trafficker
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A progressive district justice who opposes the imposition of cash bail is under fire for freeing a man accused of trafficking $2 million worth of fentanyl on his own recognizance.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala is challenging the decision of District Justice Xander Orenstein, one of several progressive district justices who are requested to impose cash bail.
KDKA Lead Investigator Andy Sheehan has reported on Orenstein in the past and has this report.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office is asking a common pleas judge to set bail for Yan Carlos Cepeda, a 27-year-old New Yorker, arrested earlier this week at the Greyhound bus station in Downtown, allegedly carrying 450,000 doses of fentanyl, more than enough to potentially kill every resident of the city of Pittsburgh.
In a statement, District Attorney Zappala said his office had been unaware of Cepeda's release by District Justice Xander Orenstein but is now appealing the decision to common pleas court.
"To remind the public, Yan Carlos Cepeda, although presumed innocent, is accused of trafficking an extremely large quantity of drugs which are responsible for the deaths of almost two people per day in Allegheny County. Now that we are aware of this, in our opinion, very dangerous decision, we are taking steps to have it reviewed by a higher court and reversed."
Orenstein is one of several progressive district justices who are reluctant to set cash bail, which they believe is unfair to defendants of lesser means.
In May, a judge reversed another Orenstein decision to release an Iranian national who allegedly told a gate attendant he put a bomb on a plane at Pittsburgh International Airport, which required a runway search for the non-existing explosive.
According to the Attorney General's Officer, Cepeda was observed by law enforcement when he arrived in Pittsburgh with a backpack and carrying a suitcase. Police noticed he went out of his way to avoid interaction with them and K-9. When agents approached Cepeda, they said he consented to a search of the backpack, where agents saw a kilogram of fentanyl.
Orenstein could not be reached, but in the past, has said they will not comment on judicial decisions.
