US judge rejects plea deal for fentanyl dealers in Tenderloin

A federal judge in San Francisco rejected a plea agreement Tuesday that would have sent two men caught dealing fentanyl in the city’s Tenderloin district back to Honduras without serving prison time.

In his order, Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup said that San Francisco and the Tenderloin were ground zero for the fentanyl epidemic. The federal courthouse is located in the center of the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.

“Our city sees an average of two fentanyl-related deaths each day, most within sight of our courthouse,” wrote Alsup, an appointee of President Bill Clinton. “The victims include those who remain addicted to fentanyl and, in turn, those who are robbed by addicts. In the Tenderloin, fentanyl dealers prey on the homeless and the hopeless.”

Jose Alfredo Lainez Banegas and Marlon Gustavo Valle-Acosta, both with lengthy criminal histories of selling illegal narcotics, were caught selling fentanyl in the Tenderloin, and each face a 20-year prison sentence. But their deal with the U.S. attorney’s office called for no prison time and repatriation to Honduras. U.S. v. Jose Alfredo Banegas, 23-CR-00334 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 03, 2023); U.S. v. Marlon Gustavo Valle-Acosta, 23-MJ-71469 (N.D. Cal., filed Oct. 06, 2023).

Northern District U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey declined to comment through a spokesperson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Farnham, who prosecuted the case, was unavailable for comment. Elizabeth Falk, a federal public defender who represents Banegas, was also unavailable for comment.

Oakland attorney Richard A. Tamor of the Law Offices of Tamor & Tamor, who represents Valle-Acosta, said he and his client were disappointed that the agreement was rejected.

“I am also particularly disappointed in the fact that whether these types of agreements will be accepted largely depends on who the client draws as a Judge,” Tamor said. “I am kind of at a loss as to how to advise any client offered the same plea agreement. I’m sure that clients will think twice about accepting such a plea agreement with so much uncertainty and without the opportunity for meaningful work-up and/or investigation.”

These plea deals are the product of a new initiative within the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District, which Alsup wrote was unique among all 93 U.S. attorney offices in the nation.

As part of this new “Fast Track” program, street-level fentanyl dealers get leniency, usually time served and a three-year stay-away order from the Tenderloin, all of which go into effect at their first court date.

A sentencing memorandum offered by prosecutors states this case is part of efforts by the U.S. attorney to disrupt the open-air fentanyl and methamphetamine drug market in the Tenderloin by increasing enforcement and expediting dispositions that prevent drug sellers from returning.

In his rejection of the deal, Alsup cited remarks made in October by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced,” Garland said. “It is nearly 50 times more potent than heroin and is a nearly invisible poison,” Garland declared. “Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl — the amount that could fit at the tip of a pencil — is a potentially lethal dose.”

Alsup, who is known for his sharp-tongued opinions, called fentanyl “Public Enemy No. 1” and that he must consider the public’s need to be protected from further crimes committed by defendants.

Deporting fentanyl dealers without making them spend time in prison “sends exactly the wrong message,” Alsup wrote in his order. “This court must consider deterrence.”

According to Alsup’s order, the cartels recruit almost all of the Tenderloin’s fentanyl dealers from a single region of Honduras.

“There, young men are enticed by the prospect of striking it rich, with little to no punishment if caught,” he wrote. “No matter from where the cartels choose to draw their dealers, no prison time will be a valuable recruitment tool.”