Full Notification

DATE/TIME: August 20, 2021, at 12:07 p.m.

INCIDENT: Distribution of Narcotics

LOCATION: 100 Block of Drake Street, Pomona

SUSPECT(S): Luis Morales, a 23-year-old male resident of Pomona

VICTIM(S): Robert Sanchez-Herrera, a 24-year-old male resident of Rancho Cucamonga


SUMMARY: SUMMARY: On August 9, 2020, the victim, Robert Sanchez-Herrera, a 24-year-old male resident of Rancho Cucamonga, suffered a fentanyl drug overdose death in Ontario.  In October 2020, investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's - Gang/Narcotics Division's Overdose Response Team received information about the suspicious death. The Sheriff's Department reached out to its federal partners and initiated a joint federal investigation into the overdose death of the victim with the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) - Riverside District Office. 

Suspect Luis Morales, a 23-year-old male resident of Pomona, was identified as the likely source of narcotics that resulted in the victim's death. After a lengthy and thorough investigation, the criminal investigation was submitted to the Riverside's United States Attorney's Office.  Their office filed a criminal complaint and obtained an arrest warrant for Luis Morales for the federal offense of distribution of narcotics (specifically, LSD allegedly sold during an undercover operation).

On August 20, 2021, members of the Inland Regional Narcotics Enforcement Team (IRNET) contacted Morales and arrested him in Claremont for his outstanding federal warrant.  Investigators served a federal search warrant at Morales' residence in the 100 Block of Drake Street, Pomona, where a large quantity of narcotics was seized.  Among the narcotics, investigators recovered approximately two kilograms of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills believed to contain fentanyl and several illegal firearms. Morales was booked at the West Valley Detention Center and was later transferred to federal custody.

The investigation into Morales remains ongoing.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Overdose Response Team is committed to combating the opioid crisis and keeping deadly drugs off the streets of San Bernardino County while prosecuting those who distribute dangerous narcotics like fentanyl.  

The IRNET is a multi-jurisdictional collaborative effort and is comprised of narcotics investigators from the DEA – Riverside Office, Federal Bureau of Investigations – Riverside Office, State of California Alcohol and Beverage Control, Montclair Police Department, Ontario Police Department, Redlands Police Department, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, San Bernardino Police Department, San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Refer: Sheriff's Department - Public Affairs Division

Station: Gangs/Narcotics Division - Overdose Response Team (IRNET)

Phone No. (909) 387-3700

Case No. 652000566 & 652100499

SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department