Tucson man pleads guilty to distributing fentanyl resulting in death following HSI, Tucson PD probe

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, a southern Arizona man pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl which eventually was linked to a death. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Tucson Police Department.

Oscar S. Acuna, Jr., 35, of Tucson, Arizona, is scheduled to be sentenced July 12, before a United States District Judge. 

Acuna admitted that he sold fentanyl pills and black tar heroin to a young woman and her boyfriend in May 2020 at a hotel in Tucson. Shortly after ingesting part of one of the pills, the young woman began experiencing respiratory distress. Medical personnel were unable to save her. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of her death was fentanyl and heroin toxicity.

A conviction for distribution of fentanyl carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $1,000,000.00, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefani Hepford, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat narcotics @HSIPhoenix.