SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office announced that Eduen Martinez-Barela, 23, better known as “Blaze,” has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with narcotics trafficking in the Tenderloin. He was arraigned on May 21, and pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all allegations.
Martinez-Barela is charged with 17 felony narcotics trafficking-related counts. He is charged with two counts of possession for sale of fentanyl (H&S 11351), two counts of possession for sale of methamphetamine (H&S 11378), two counts of possession for sale of cocaine base (H&S 11351.5(a)), two counts of transportation for sale of a controlled substance (H&S 11379(a)), three counts of using a minor to sell or carry a narcotic (H&S 11353) and six counts of sale and giving away controlled substances (H&S 11352(a)).
The criminal complaint includes numerous allegations including that he possessed a substance containing more than one ounce of fentanyl (H&S 11370(c)(1)(A) and more than 100 grams of fentanyl (H&S 11370.4(c)(1)(D)).
According to court documents, the defendant was the subject of a month-long investigation by the San Francisco Police Department. Allegedly, Martinez-Barela sold drugs to undercover officers on four occasions at locations in the Tenderloin District and near Jefferson Square Park.
He was arrested by authorities on May 15, near Golden Gate Avenue and Laguna Street where he allegedly sold an undercover officer one gram of suspected fentanyl for $30.00. The police searched Martinez-Barela and found almost 50 grams of suspected fentanyl, over 30 grams of methamphetamine, over 18 grams of cocaine and additional $109.00 in cash on his person.
The defendant was the subject of a California Highway Patrol (CHP) narcotics arrest on March 31. At approximately 8:50 p.m., the CHP conducted a traffic enforcement stop of a vehicle and while issuing a citation learned that neither the driver nor any of the other occupants had a driver’s license.
CHP asked for the keys to the vehicle and removed the occupants from the vehicle. They brought over a canine unit trained to detect illegal narcotics, and the dog hit on the right rear door seam of the vehicle. The California Highway Patrol searched the vehicle and found a bag of suspected narcotics underneath the bench seat area where a juvenile had been seated.
The bag contained 265.5 grams of suspected fentanyl, 103 grams of methamphetamine and 31.7 grams of cocaine base. CHP also located 15.3 grams of suspected fentanyl and $500.00 cash behind a screen mounted on the vehicle’s dashboard. The CHP located a scale and some suspected Xanax pills where the minor had been seated and packaging materials in the driver’s pant pocket and two Narcan sprays in the trunk of the vehicle.
Martinez-Barela was released by a judge pre-arraignment and appeared for arraignment out of custody. He was remanded into custody and detained pending trial because of the public safety risk he poses. The judge at arraignment set bail without prejudice in the amount of $170,000. He is currently in custody, with the next court on Tuesday, May 27 for a bail review hearing.
The SFPD is still investigating the case. Anyone with details should call the SFPD Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
