Arrest made in counterfeit drug case

After the deaths of two men who had ingested what they thought was Xanax, the Sheriff’s Office discovered that a counterfeit version of the prescription drug, alprazolam, was being sold on the streets in Santa CruzCounty. The counterfeit drug was also known to be linked to three similar overdose deaths in San Francisco.
The drug, alprazolam, is a prescription medication used to treat anxiety disorders. The drug is a benzodiazepine with brand names Xanax and Niravam. The counterfeit drugs in San Francisco were laced with Fentanyl.
On November 6, the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Team and the Anti-Crime Task Force served a search warrant at the home of 22-year old Daniel Meehan on the 700 block of Calabasas Road in Watsonville. The detectives found four firearms including an illegal assault rifle and .40 caliber handguns. They also found an active Butane Honey Oil lab, 80 marijuana plants and one quarter pound of cocaine.
Meehan confessed to detectives that he had tried to destroy the remaining pills that were in his possession after he learned what happened to the 29-year old Aptos man that he had supplied with the counterfeit Xanax.
The detectives found ten of the lethal pills on White Road where Meehan said he had dumped the remains of the lethal pills.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Meehan for manufacturing and selling a controlled substance, possession of an illegal assault weapon, marijuana sales and cultivation. He was booked into the county jail with bail set at the statutory $50,000.
Found at the home was 23-year old Ryan Heinrichs and a 29-year old woman, Ryan Peterson. Both were arrested and booked into the county jail. Heinrichs was arrested for possession of brass knuckles. His bail was set at $5000. Peterson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and cited on the scene. The Sheriff’s detectives discovered two and one half of the Xanax pills in her purse.