LACo man who ran ‘DoorDash’-style drug delivery service sentenced to prison
LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - A Los Angeles County man was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for running what prosecutors dubbed a "DoorDash for drugs" that provided same-day delivery of cocaine and fentanyl-laced pain pills to customers, including two who died from overdoses.
Erick Estrada, 37, also known as Franco Sanchez and Eric Freddy Hook, ran the operation out of his home in a gated Calabasas neighborhood, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Estrada pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court in October in two separate cases. In the first case, he pleaded to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death, and in the second, he entered a plea to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.
He was also ordered to pay a total of $43,145 in restitution to the families of the victims.
Estrada "ran the operation as its organizer and leader, controlling a network of drivers and couriers from his mansion in Calabasas, while earning millions of dollars,'' federal prosecutors wrote in sentencing papers. "Two people are dead as a direct result of defendant's distribution of counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl."
A man identified by the initials C.N. died on June 9, 2022, after ingesting a pill sold by Estrada's delivery service, according to the DOJ, and a woman identified as S.M. died nine months later as a result of taking the drug.
"There is no avoiding the central failure in this case,'' defense attorney Meghan Blanco wrote in a court filing. "Mr. Estrada created the business, failed to stop it as counterfeit fentanyl entered the market, continued to profit from it after stepping away from its daily operation, and failed to ensure that it ended before anyone else was harmed. Those failures warrant a substantial prison sentence."
Estrada's 39-year-old wife, Zoila, was among six defendants charged in November 2023. She subsequently pleaded guilty to money laundering.
According to the 18-count indictment, Estrada obtained narcotics, including cocaine and purported oxycodone pills that actually contained fentanyl, and handed the drugs off to a network of delivery drivers for distribution to customers or other dealers throughout the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County.
Estrada and his wife laundered the proceeds through his sham businesses' bank accounts, where they used the money for various personal expenses, including luxury vehicles such as a Lamborghini and a Land Rover, the indictment says.
"The level of harm inflicted by this large-scale drug distributor is incalculable,'' Anthony Chrysanthis, special agent in charge of the DEA Los Angeles Division, said in a statement. "Families and loved ones of those poisoned by fentanyl are left to deal with heart-wrenching and fluctuating waves of grief, every single day. We hope today's substantial sentence, of 27 years, brings some form of closure and solace to the victims' families."
One of Estrada's lieutenants, Gilberto Marquez, 37, of Woodland Hills, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and was sentenced in February to over five years behind bars.
Another member of the ring, Arian Alani, 37, of Burbank, pleaded guilty to a count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and is awaiting sentencing.
