TRENTON, NJ – Two men have admitted their roles in a drug distribution conspiracy in connection with the seizure of fentanyl and heroin at a Hunterdon County rest stop, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.
Luis Aponte, 48, of Riverside, California pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and heroin.
Denny Diaz, 29, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan on Sept. 10, 2019.
According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Aponte drove a tractor-trailer truck to a rest stop in Bloomsbury, New Jersey, on March 1, 2019. The next day, he met Diaz in a car and gave Diaz approximately six kilograms of fentanyl. Both men were arrested shortly thereafter. Law enforcement officers searched Aponte’s truck at the rest stop and found an additional two kilograms of fentanyl and 11 kilograms of heroin inside.
The charge to which the defendants have pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and a maximum fine of $10 million, Carpenito said.
Sentencing for Aponte is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2020, and for Diaz, Dec. 16, 2019.
