Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on February 18, 2025, Derek Estes of Jamestown, California was sentenced to 10 years State Prison. On January 21, 2025, Mr. Estes pled guilty to possession of fentanyl for sale, admitted his prior strike conviction, and admitted the aggravating factor alleging that the crime involved threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.
Possession of fentanyl for sale, a violation of Health and Safety Code section 11352(a) has a sentencing triad of 3, 4, or 5 years that is served in our county jail pursuant to Penal Code section 1170(h). Because Mr. Estes has a prior strike, his term was doubled and must be served in State Prison.
The conviction against Mr. Estes resulted from a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Team (TNT) investigation that led to a traffic stop on a vehicle Mr. Estes was driving on November 7, 2024. A search of that vehicle revealed two separate bags of over 12 grams of fentanyl each (totaling 21.4 grams). Also in the vehicle was Stacey Christ, who is currently charged with possession of that fentanyl for sale as well as murder for the overdose death of Richard Bennett Jr. on October 10, 2024.
As a part of his plea, Mr. Estes was read and acknowledged the following Fentanyl Advisement: “You are hereby advised, illegally selling or furnishing controlled substances carries with it the specific risk that you are providing drugs laced with a potentially lethal substance and are hereby advised that if you personally provide or aid someone else with providing these drugs to a person, and a person dies as a result of ingesting a fentanyl-laced product, you can be charged with manslaughter or murder.” Fentanyl continues to be a pressing public safety issue with fentanyl related overdoses continuing to plague our community. The District Attorney’s Office, along with our law enforcement partners, is committed to investigating and prosecuting these types of crimes.
If you have any information regarding drug sales in our community, please contact the TNT tip line at (209) 533-5884.
