The suspect, 21-year-old Christopher Fernandez of Gilbert, (right) was arrested on January 14 during a traffic stop. He reportedly had a gram of heroin on him at the time, and four more grams back his crib, which was also searched by police. The arrest was the culmination of a month-long investigation.
Fernandez's alleged supplier, Saul Miramontes, 20, (pictured below) was arrested the same day. Though neither man is alleged to sold drugs at or near a school, police called the heroin sales to young teens "abominable."
Katie McDevitt, spokesman for Tempe PD, did not want to comment why her agency was involved in the narcotics investigation, which was conducted with Gilbert police.
Stories crop up every few years about heroin making a resurgence, especially when young children are involved with the highly addictive opiate. Heroin seems to pack even more of a punch in the media than the far-more-prevalent meth. Back in 2004, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio touted the bust of a "heroin" ring that sold to high schoolers, even though most of young people involved had purchased only marijuana from the ring members. (Most of the alleged drug dealers escaped justice after their arrest in those pre-287(g) days).
