Crime & Safety
4 Arrested, More Than 20K Counterfeit Pills Seized: SFPD
Police also seized 68.5 grams of MDMA, 6.5 grams of black tar heroin, a semiautomatic rifle, a semiautomatic pistol, and $2,267 in cash.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Four people were arrested earlier this month, and more than 20,000 suspected counterfeit pills were seized during a San Francisco police investigation into the fatal overdose of a 16-year-old in April, police said.
San Francisco police officers served search warrants Sept. 8 and 9 at three residences and seized suspected counterfeit Xanax, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other pills, including fentanyl, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
Police also seized 68.5 grams of MDMA, 6.5 grams of black tar heroin, a semiautomatic rifle, a semiautomatic pistol, and $2,267 in cash, authorities noted.
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Nicholas Wallace, 46, and Sharonee Hyson, 44, were arrested Sept. 8 at a residence on O'Farrell Street. Police said Hyson was on an active parole and had cocaine base and a loaded firearm.
Leander Pitts, 46, and Starr Lamare, 39, were arrested Sept. 9 at residences on Executive Park Boulevard and Newhall Avenue.
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The investigation began April 7 after a teenager was found dead at a home on Bush Street. The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the teenager died from a combination of drugs, including cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid, police said.
Investigators conducted controlled drug purchases and traced the suspected sources of the pills before obtaining search warrants, police said.
The department is working with the federal Food and Drug Administration to determine whether any pills seized in September contain cychlorphine.
All four suspects were booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale and firearms offenses.
The investigation remains active, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 1-415-575-4444 or Text-A-Tip to TIP411, beginning the message with "SFPD".
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