New York Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Possessing Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute, Resisting Arrest

NEWARK, N.J. –A Bronx, New York, man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute and resisting his arrest with a deadly or dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Miguel Nuñez, 50, of Bronx, New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to a superseding information charging him with one count of possessing 40 grams of fentanyl with intent to distribute and one count of resisting and impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On March 24, 2021, Nuñez and Jesus Higuera-Parra, 28, of Ontario, California, drove from New York City to Elizabeth, New Jersey, for the purposes of distributing fentanyl. When they arrived to meet the drug purchaser, they were approached by members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Nunez, the driver of the vehicle, put his car in reverse and attempted to elude the law enforcement personnel, which resulted in a collision with a DEA car.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Nunez to four years of supervised release.

Higuera-Parra previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and is awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ray Mateo of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit and Benjamin Levin of the National Security Unit.