SF Tenderloin drug dealer gets nearly 4 years in prison for fentanyl sales
SAN FRANCISCO – A Peninsula man who was convicted for selling fentanyl in San Francisco's Tenderloin has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
According to Northern California U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds' office, 33-year-old Emil Arriola Melendez of South San Francisco received a 46-month sentence after admitting to fentanyl distribution, as part of a plea agreement.
Court documents said authorities began investigating Melendez following the deaths of three people in rural Trinity County in far Northern California last August. The dealer who sold fentanyl to the three people was arrested and told authorities that he would drive to the Bay Area to buy the highly potent opioid from Melendez.
Soon after, an undercover officer posing as a buyer began messaging Melendez, according to prosecutors.
According to the plea agreement, Melendez admitted to selling 110 grams of fentanyl to the undercover officer in the city's Tenderloin neighborhood for $3,000 on September 22. Additionally, Melendez also admitted to meeting with the same undercover officer in the Tenderloin on October 27 and sold about 8 ounces of fentanyl and two ounces of heroin for $7,800.
At the time of his arrest, authorities searched his home and found a so-called "ghost gun," prosecutors said. The firearm was forfeited as part of his sentence.
Melendez, who was in custody Wednesday, will begin his sentence immediately, according to prosecutors. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release once he is out of prison.
