SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – An Oakland man appeared in federal court on Friday after being charged on suspicion of fentanyl and methamphetamine sales in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, prosecutors said.
According to U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds’ office, 26-year-old Jose Alvarado has been charged with distributing five or more grams of methamphetamine and one charge of distributing 40 or more grams of fentanyl.
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In a criminal complaint that was unsealed Friday, prosecutors said Alvarado engaged in four separate narcotics sales to three undercover officers over a two month span.
The complaint lists a November 30, 2021 sale where Alvarado sold seven grams of fentanyl to an undercover officer, along with a January 13 sale where 12 grams of fentanyl and seven grams of methamphetamine was sold to a different undercover officer.
Alvarado met up with yet another undercover officer twice to sell two ounces of fentanyl on January 20 and two ounces of fentanyl and one ounce of methamphetamine on February 10, according to the complaint. Prosecutors said the last sale took place at the corner of a federal law enforcement building.
The charges come as San Francisco officials try to end the open-air illegal distribution of drugs in the neighborhood, including declaring a local state of emergency. Mayor London Breed allowed portions of the state of emergency to expire last month.
If convicted, prosecutors said Alvarado faces a range of five to 40 years in federal prison on each charge, along with a maximum of $5 million in fines and at least four years of supervised release.
Alvarado remains in custody, prosecutors said. A detention hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.
