FARGO, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – A Rhode Island man, Steven Barros Pinto, convicted of manufacturing tens of thousands of fentanyl pills for an international drug ring, will have one less charge on his record after an appeals court ruled he faced double jeopardy. However, his sentence is unlikely to change.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday, July 1, that Pinto, 43, was unjustly convicted of conspiracy to possess drugs with intent to deliver, an act causing 15 overdoses, and continuing a criminal enterprise from 2013 to 2018. The court dismissed one of these charges, but Pinto’s 400-month (over 33 years) sentence for the enterprise charge remains the same, as it was the harshest of his five charges and to be served concurrently.
A jury had found Pinto guilty on five of seven charges linked to an international fentanyl ring that caused four deaths, including that of 18-year-old Bailey Henke in Grand Forks in 2015. Henke’s overdose spurred Operation Denial, an international investigation resulting in significant prison terms for many involved.
Daniel Vivas Ceron, who led the drug ring from a Canadian prison, received a 27-year sentence. Authorities also linked the ring to Chinese national Jian Zhang, accused of running at least four fentanyl labs. Zhang remains indicted in North Dakota, but his whereabouts are unknown.
Pinto, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was identified as an organizer who produced up to 40,000 pills at a time. He claimed double jeopardy on three counts, with the court agreeing on two but maintaining his importation charge.
Pinto’s appeal to overturn his money laundering conviction and challenge North Dakota as the trial venue also failed.