Opinion ID: 6111649
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nature of the Substances

Text: “Polo” sold both heroin and crack cocaine. In early 2016, customers started noticing a change in “Polo’s” heroin. Until then, the heroin was “brownish,” (Randy Odish Trial Test., R. 717, Page ID #5429), or “light gray,” (Tomic Test., R. 721, Page ID #5668). But in early 2016, the heroin changed color; it was lighter—“like a light beige . . . [or] an off-white color.” (Palazzola Test., R. 715, Page ID #5359). Customers also noticed that the texture changed; the heroin was now more “powder[y],” (Fenn Test., R. 715, Page ID #5279), or “crystally,” (Tomic Test., R. 721, Page ID #5677), when it previously came as a “chunk” and was more rock-like, (Grzywacz Test., R. 722, Page ID #5862; Haggart Test., R. 722, Page ID #5785). One customer was so confused by the sudden change in the heroin’s appearance that he called the x3399 “Polo” number back and said, “I wanted heroin, not crack,” to which the person answering said, “This is heroin.” (Odish Test., R. 717, Page ID ##5437–38, #5440). “Polo” customers and street-level dealers called this lighter drug “White China,” (Dabish Test., R. 705, Page ID #3969), “kill shit,” (Villerot Test., R. 709, Page ID #4554; Fenn Test., R. 715, Page ID #5279), or “Russian white,” (Yako Test., R. 723, Page ID #5978). This lighter, powdery heroin was more potent. Noticing the change in potency, customers were no longer “sure how much [they] could do or how much [they] would need for Nos. 19-2217/2221/20-1177 United States v. Sadler, et al. Page 6 the day.” (Palazzola Test., R. 715, Page ID #5353). One customer reacted differently to this heroin; she became ill and vomited after using it. Some suspected that this lighter heroin contained fentanyl. One “Polo” runner told a customer that this heroin was “good stuff” because it was cut with fentanyl. (Magda Test., R. 722, Page ID #5910). As part of the ongoing investigation, police ran several laboratory tests on “Polo” drugs. These tests showed that sometimes “Polo” sold pure heroin. In sixteen out of eighteen undercover purchases, Officer Villerot bought pure heroin from “Polo.” But sometimes “Polo’s” heroin was cut with fentanyl. On April 19, 2016, Officer Villerot bought 0.23 grams of a substance containing “detectable amounts of heroin and fentanyl,” (Villerot Test., R. 709, Page ID #4548), and on March 17, 2016, a customer bought drugs from “Polo” that contained “detectable amounts of fentanyl and heroin,” (Pointer Test., R. 721, Page ID #5583). Sometimes “Polo” sold pure fentanyl. On May 30, 2016, Officer Villerot bought 0.28 grams of pure fentanyl from “Polo.” On March 30, 2016, police seized 0.028 grams of pure fentanyl from a “Polo” customer. And on March 29, 2016, police seized 0.107 grams of pure fentanyl from a “Polo” customer.