Two men charged with smuggling $750,000 worth of fentanyl into the U.S. were no shows at their scheduled court hearing. Why? They were classified as “low risk” after they were arrested and released without bail.
Washington Times reports 25-year-old Jose Zendejas and Benito Madrigal, 19, were caught smuggling roughly 150,000 fentanyl-laced pills from Mexico to Washington state. Police also found two kilos of cocaine during their June 24 traffic stop in California.
The men were charged with four counts, including transporting fentanyl and transporting cocaine — both with the intent to sell. They were initially held on $1 million bail each, but after 18 hours, the probation department deemed them “low risk,” and they were released on their own recognizance.
Zendejas and Madrigal promised to appear in court on Thursday, July 21, but — surprise! — they were a no show.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreax is fuming. He said, “I couldn’t believe we had 150,000 fentanyl pills — one of the most dangerous epidemics facing our nation today, with people in custody that we may potentially be able to impact the future of this type of drug trafficking organization… and we let them go.”
District Attorney Tim Ward is equally mad as he also wasn’t alerted of the release. He said the court’s decision to let go was “extremely dangerous,” adding this punishes law-abiding citizens.
The suspects face a maximum of 14 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Their whereabouts are unknown at this time.