Man linked to overdoses involving Los Gatos High students found guilty of drug sales
LOS GATOS – A South Bay man is facing more than a decade in prison after being convicted of selling fentanyl-laced pills to a group of students at Los Gatos High School.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, 23-year-old Simon Armendariz pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including four felony counts of selling drugs to minors. Armendariz also pleaded guilty of possessing ammunition by a prohibited person and fentanyl possession.
"Just so everybody knows: fentanyl kills," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "Just so everybody knows: if you sell fentanyl to teenagers then our prosecutors will do everything in our power to send you to prison for a very long time."
Authorities began investigating Armendariz, who also goes by the name "Risky", after a teen overdosed on a counterfeit Percocet pill laced with fentanyl. Investigators then traced the drugs to several other students, one of whom would get the pills delivered from Armendariz before school or in the parking lot of a nearby church.
Prosecutors said one of the victims, a 15-year-old, overdosed in the bathroom at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.
According to the DA's office, Armendariz will be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
He will be formally sentenced on December 6.
