ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — A California trio, who was previously indicted for supplying fentanyl linked to overdoses of teens in Wise County, pleaded guilty last week.

According to a release from the Virginia State Police (VSP), Alexander Ortiz, 25, of Fullerton, California, Destiny Raeann Perez, 23, of Turlock, California and Jorge Efrain Perez Jr., 24, of Santa Ana, California, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

An investigation determined that between Nov. 1, 2020 and June 20, 2022, the trio sold “tens of thousands” of fentanyl-laced pills to buyers across the United States, including co-conspirator Paul Mason Perkins and others.

On social media platforms Snapchat and Instagram, Perkins reportedly ordered 1,000 pills every few weeks from Ortiz. Once the pills were delivered to Perkins’ residence in Big Stone Gap, he sold the pills to individuals in Wise County, which were linked to two teenage overdoses in Nov. 2021, VSP said.

Ortiz also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, resulting in him facing a 15-year sentence, the VSP stated. Jorge Perez and Destiny Perez reportedly face a minimum of ten years in prison each.

“According to court documents, at the time of Mr. Ortiz’s arrest on June 20, 2022, he was found in possession of both a FNH pistol and a Glock, Model 45 9mm pistol, as well as over $10,000 cash, fentanyl patches and thousands of Alprazolam pills and other controlled substances, digital scales, and drug packaging items,” the VSP stated.

“A search warrant executed at Ortiz and Destiny Perez’s residence in Los Banos, California resulted in the recovery of over 6,000 pressed pills containing fentanyl, approximately $60,000 cash, and 13 firearms,” according to VSP.

The announcement comes from U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh; Charlies J. Patterson, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division; and Tira A. Hayward, Acting Inspector in charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Atlanta Division.

The Wise County Sheriff’s Office City of Norton VA PD, the Southwest Drug Task Force, VSP, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and ATF investigated the case, with assistance from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, CA and the Patterson, California Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lena Busscher is prosecuting the case.