LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A Pacoima woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday for her alleged role in a drug trafficking ring that distributed controlled substances, including fentanyl-laced oxycodone, to members of the U.S. Marine Corps.
One officer suffered a fatal overdose attributed to pills dealt by the ring.
Jessica Sarah Perez, 25, will return to federal court in Los Angeles in May on a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Perez admitted that she sold fentanyl-laced oxycodone and other drugs to at least two active-duty Marines on behalf of a co-defendant.
Lance Cpls. Anthony Ruben Whisenant, 22, and Ryan Douglas White, 24, both stationed at Camp Pendleton, were arrested in September of last year in connection with an indictment of conspiracy to distribute drugs to civilians and members of the Marine Corps.
Whisenant allegedly distributed the drugs to fellow Marines, including one who died. White was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly attempting to hinder Whisenant’s arrest.
Civilians also named in the indictment included Gustavo Jaciel Solis, 25, of Sylmar, who allegedly sold drugs on behalf of Jordan NIcholas McCormick, 27, to both other civilians and military personnel. McCormick was alleged to have supplied LSD, ecstasy, cocaine, and the fentanyl-laced oxycodone to Solis and Perez, and was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking scheme.
Federal prosecutors alleged that on May 22, 2020, Solis sold 10 pills of oxycodone laced with fentanyl to an unnamed active-duty Marine who died of a drug overdose the next day.
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