A former Riverside County Sheriff’s Department correctional deputy faces a series of local felony charges after he was allegedly caught with more than 100 pounds of fentanyl and a gun.
Banning resident Jorge Oceguera-Rocha, 25, was pulled over in Calimesa on Sept. 17, and authorities allegedly found a gun and narcotics, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Oceguera-Rocha had been under investigation for playing “a pivotal role of trafficking large quantities of narcotics within Riverside County while off duty.”
On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department detailed that the drugs in question were fentanyl pills, of which Oceguera-Rocha had 104 pounds.
Federal prosecutors declined to file charges against him, but Riverside County officials charged Oceguera-Rocha with possession of narcotics, transportation with the intent to distribute narcotics, weight enhancements for the narcotics and possession of a firearm while in possession of narcotics.
He is being held at the John Benoit Detention Center in lieu of $5 million bail.
The RCSD said the large bail figure was “based on the weight amount, danger to the public and potential for Oceguera-Rocha to flee from prosecution.”
If convicted of all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail, the DA’s office said.
At the time of his arrest, Oceguera-Rocha was a deputy at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, a position he resigned before he could be fired.
His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 31.
