TOLEDO — A Lima woman involved in a recent seizure of 57 grams of the potent synthetic opioid carfentanil was indicted Friday in federal court.
Nancy Garza, 32, was indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, according to a release from the U.S. District Attorney’s office. The charge relates to the seizure of the drug July 20 in the parking lot of McDonald’s, 525 W. Market St., Lima. Shawn Starcher, 29, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was also arrested at the scene.
In the indictment, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Craig Schulte related how, when approached by Lima Police Department bike patrol officers, Garza and Starcher both appeared nervous in their vehicle, with Garza “moving her body from side to side and reach(ing) towards the back seat of the vehicle breathing heavily. The driver was breathing heavily, as well, and appeared to be shaking.” The indictment goes on to say that, after obtaining permission to search the vehicle, officers found a plastic grocery bag containing approximately $4,900, a large plastic bag containing almost 53 grams of what was then believed to be fentanyl and later determined to be carfentanil and a black wallet containing just over four grams of the same drug.
If convicted, Garza could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. No date has yet been scheduled for her arraignment.
A tranquilizer for elephants and other large animals, carfentanil has been used to cut heroin and is related to several overdose deaths, both in Ohio and across the country. Carfentanil is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, another synthetic opioid that is 50 times as potent as heroin.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
