Heroin suspects disappear

Authorities don’t know the location of more than half of the 15 Mexican nationals arrested over the last 10 months connected to a sophisticated drug-dealing network that targeted the Scottsdale area.

The investigation, led by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, stunned the north East Valley community when it was first announced in August 2004 because of its link to Scottsdale high schools. Reports of teenagers buying heroin and cocaine triggered the Scottsdale Unified School District governing board in April to approve using drugsniffing dogs in schools.

But most of the suspected heroin dealers are going unpunished.

One who posted a relatively low bail and skipped his court dates is "absolutely" still dealing in the Valley, said sheriff’s detective Jeff Gentry.

"It’s frustrating," Gentry said. "We just move on. He’ll get caught on something. We try to stay focused on what we’re doing at the time."

Sheriff’s deputies tapped into the drug ring in July 2004 while investigating an unrelated drive-by shooting. Based on information from a teenage informant, deputies started surveillance on two men suspected of selling heroin and other drugs to high-school age children, reports show. The men were arrested and used in a sting that helped uncover 13 more suspected heroin dealers tied to a savvy, Mexicobased drug organization.

Those two men, later identified as Edgar Ernesto Salvatierra-Gutierrez, 19, and Marco Antonio Salvatierra-Gutierrez, 22, pleaded guilty on June 30 and are scheduled for sentencing July 19. Four of the other suspected dealers are in jail awaiting court proceedings. All are being prosecuted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Reasons varied as to why the other suspected dealers managed to escape prosecution.

In March, three who were arrested together in Scottsdale by sheriff ’s deputies were released from jail without bail and have since missed court appointments. Bench warrants have been issued for the men, each of whom has been indicted on multiple criminal counts by a county grand jury.

The undercover deputies who allege the men sold them heroin wrote in court paperwork that the suspects should not be released because none has been in the country for more than a month. Steven Lynch, a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner, released the men on their own recognizance.

Court officials did not want to comment on the case because it is still pending, said Superior Court spokesman Damian Aros.

Oscar Enriquez Ruiz-Castillo, 33, posted $4,500 bail to get out of jail after he was arrested in October. Gentry said that recently, an informant told him Ruiz-Castillo was selling drugs. The detective called the suspect’s cell phone and, recognizing the man’s voice, pretended to be a drug buyer. The man hung up, Gentry said.

"Don’t worry," he said. "I’m scouring the streets. If I see him, I’ll get him."

Also in October, three men arrested by Scottsdale police were not charged by prosecutors within a 48-hour time limit and were released from jail. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Two more men were released from jail for undetermined reasons; one has failed to make court appointments and the other was apparently never charged with a crime.

Andrea Esquer, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Terry Goddard, said that in one of the cases, prosecutor Billie Rosen asked for and received a higher bail amount for one suspect. The request was granted, and the man remained in jail. But the prosecutor’s office did not see many of the cases until after the suspects’ initial appearance before a court commissioner, she said.

"We deal with what we’ve got," Esquer said.

Why the suspected heroin dealers’ cases were sent to Goddard’s office, and not the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office — where the bulk of Valley prosecutions take place — has never been made clear.

Typically, the only drug cases handled by Goddard’s office involve a multiagency task force. Bill FitzGerald, spokesman for the county attorney’s office, told the Tribune it was "unusual" for Goddard to be taking the cases.

Esquer said the state attorney general’s drug prosecution unit is excellent, so the sheriff’s office needs no other reason to send cases there.

"I’m not going to tell you why it went there right now," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "We’ll tell you as time goes by. We’re still working on it."

The Mexican organization linked to the suspects is large, professional and practically untouchable, at least by Arizona authorities, said sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Bailey, who helped lead the investigation.

The group sends emissaries to Arizona to work as dealers and controllers, he said. The controllers may find other new immigrants to tempt with the promise of quick money, giving them loaner cars, cell phones and the drugs to sell. The controllers receive $500 every other day from each dealer, while the dealers themselves are paid a flat fee of $1,000 or $1,200 a month, Bailey said.

"It wasn’t like a bunch of uneducated goofballs were selling here," Bailey said. "Someone is making a lot of money."

Legal system loses track of suspected heroin dealers

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has linked 15 Mexican nationals arrested in the last 12 months to a drug ring that sold heroin and other drugs to Scottsdale area teenagers. Six of the suspected dealers are being prosecuted. The others were released from custody and have not been seen since. All 15 were arrested on suspicion of selling heroin and other crimes; most arrests occurred in Scottsdale.