Prosecutors continue to seek pre-trial detention for suspected drug dealers who pose public safety risk
San Francisco, CA – Today, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced multiple felony charges against two alleged drug dealers, Luis Ramos-Aguilar (25) and Olsen Artiaga-Colindrez (26) who were arrested in unrelated San Francisco Police Department narcotics operations.
Ramos-Aguilar is charged with felony possession of fentanyl for sale, possession of methamphetamine for sale, resisting, obstruction or delaying arrest and contempt of court for violating stay away orders issued in two other open felony narcotic sales cases. The criminal complaint against Ramos-Aguilar also alleges that he committed the offenses while released on his own recognizance in three other open narcotics sales cases.
Artiaga-Colindrez is charged with possession of fentanyl for sale purposes, possession of methamphetamine for sale purposes, contempt of court order for violating a stay away order, and resisting, obstructing, or delaying arrest. The criminal complaint also alleges that the offenses were committed while he was released on his own recognizance in four other open narcotics sales cases.
“Both Luis Ramos-Aguilar and Olsen Artiaga-Colindrez will be held accountable for their flagrant contempt of court and utter disregard for public safety,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “Drug dealers are wreaking havoc on our communities and are major contributors to the trauma, public safety risks, and overdose deaths on our streets. Those who live and work in these neighborhoods deserve better. As drug dealers’ behavior becomes increasingly brazen, we are continuing in our efforts to hold them accountable and provide help and relief to the community.”
Ramos-Aguilar was most recently arrested on December 29, 2022, on Turk Street west of Van Ness Avenue in possession of 49.9 grams of fentanyl and 6.7 grams of methamphetamine. San Francisco Police Department officers arrested him after seeing what they believed was a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction. With the other open cases, Ramos-Aguilar is alleged to have been in possession for sale over 500 grams of fentanyl in the last six months.
The court set bail at $50,000 and ordered an in-custody referral to assertive case management despite two previous referrals to assertive case management and treatment. The in-custody referral to case management report will be heard on January 12, 2023 in conjunction with a preliminary hearing for one of his other open cases (Court Number: 22013568). The preliminary hearing in this case is set for January 17, 2023.
Artiaga-Colindrez was arrested on New Year’s Eve, following a spotting operation near the intersection of Seventh Street and Market Street, in possession of 268 grams of methamphetamine, and 65 grams of fentanyl. Since December of 2021, Artiaga-Colindrez is alleged to have been in possession for sale of 854.5 grams of controlled substances including 502.3 grams of fentanyl, 311.4 grams of methamphetamine, 37 grams of heroin and 3.8 grams of cocaine. The court set bail at $25,000. The court will rule on the motion to detain on January 17, 2023 in conjunction with the preliminary hearing in this case.
Both Ramos-Aguilar and Artiaga-Colindrez have been in custody since they were arrested (December 29, 2022 and December 31, 2022 respectively). Prosecutors sought pre-trial detention in each of these cases because of the extreme public safety risk each individual poses. Less restrictive alternatives have not deterred either of them from selling lethal drugs or protected the public as they have accumulated numerous cases for drug dealing within six months and just over one year, respectively. If convicted of all charges, Ramos-Aguilar faces more than 12 years in state prison for his most recent case and Artiaga-Colindrez faces more than eight years in state prison for his most recent case.
Between July 8, 2022 and December 29, 2022, the District Attorney’s Office filed 379 felony narcotics sales cases and sought pre-trial detention in 14 because of the extreme public safety risk posed by those alleged drug dealers. In one case, the amount of fentanyl seized (almost 8 pounds) could have killed almost 2 million people. The court granted four motions to detain and denied seven. In three instances, the court imposed bail.
Following the Appellate Court’s In re Kowalczyk decision, this office will no longer be able to ask the court to deny bail in egregious cases to protect the public from dangerous drug dealers like Ramos-Aguilar. Instead, In re Kowalczyk now requires prosecutors to seek detention by requesting unaffordable cash bail be set when pre-trial detention is necessary to protect public safety against those who continue to peddle lethal amounts of drugs like fentanyl and endanger the lives of San Franciscans.
Although, charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.
Court Numbers – Ramos-Aguilar: 22015943, 22014692, 22013568, 22007635
Court Numbers – Artiaga-Colindrez: 23000003, 22012213, 22001750, 22000795, and 21012944
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