Fentanyl-Laced Drugs Sold By Somerset County Man Kill 4, Feds Say

SOMERSET, NJ — A Somerset County man was arrested for selling drugs laced with fentanyl that resulted in four deaths and selling cocaine, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Thursday.

Mauricio Gutierrez, 50, of Somerset, is charged by complaint with two counts of distribution of fentanyl that resulted in a death and one count of distribution of cocaine.

Gutierrez made his first appearance on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court and was detained.

On June 24, 2022, Gutierrez sold controlled substances containing fentanyl in at least two separate transactions, according to documents filed in this case and statements made in court.

The first person to whom Gutierrez sold fentanyl used it, along with two other people. Shortly thereafter the three victims were found in a vehicle that was parked outside an establishment in North Brunswick, and all three were unresponsive, said Sellinger.

Two victims were pronounced dead and the third victim died two days later, said Sellinger.

Authorities found a white powder, which was determined to contain fentanyl, inside the vehicle, according to the report.

In a separate transaction, Gutierrez sold fentanyl to another person who was found shortly thereafter in a vehicle in Franklin Township, according to the report.

The victim was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities found a white powder, which was determined to contain fentanyl, inside the vehicle, said Sellinger.

Toxicology reports determined that the victims had lethal amounts of fentanyl in their blood.

On Sept. 27, authorities arrested Gutierrez after seeing him engage in a hand-to-hand narcotics sale in Piscataway. The controlled substance that Gutierrez sold tested positive for cocaine, according to the report.

Gutierrez could face a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison for the charges of drug distribution resulting in death.

He could also face a maximum penalty of 20 years for the charge of distributing controlled substances. The three charges each carry a fine of up to $1 million.

Sellinger thanked Special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz, for the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the North Brunswick Department, under the direction of Chief Joe Battaglia, and Franklin Township Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather, for their help.

The investigations leading to these charges is part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) operations.

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