SSU police unit arrests fentanyl seller in RR

Joel Piazza, about 43, of Rio Rancho, was arrested Nov. 9 for fentanyl trafficking, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia at a residence in the 1100 block of 38th Street.

According to a report filed by the Rio Rancho Police Department, officers from the Special Service Unit (SSU) received information from numerous sources about suspected narcotics transactions and use at that location, and SSU believed Piazza was selling narcotics out of the residence and began surveillance. During surveillance, several vehicles and/or pedestrians arrived to the residence for a short period of time. These “visitors,” entered the residence out of sight before quickly returning outside and leaving the area.

Officers were also notified he would move more than a “boat,” or 1,000 pills, every couple of days.

During the week of Aug. 7, a controlled buy for suspected fentanyl was conducted by a confidential source under officer supervision. That person met with Piazza at the house and exchanged cash for the pills, which were turned over to the police and sent to the New Mexico Crime Lab for further analysis. All of this was done as surveillance of the property continued.

On Aug. 15, detectives and officers from the SSU executed a search warrant at the residence. They found Piazza, his son, Natasha Deely and her mother there. Deely had an active felony warrant out of Bernalillo Magistrate Court and was detained. She said she and her mother had been living at the home for a short time, assisting Piazza with the care of his elderly mother, who was currently at the hospital. Officers also found a fetanyl pill in her possession, and she was brought to Sandoval County Detention Center on her warrant and later issued a summons for posession of a controlled substance. Her mother was released and told police she cleans for Piazza and that he and her daughter are using “blues.”

Piazza’s son, who was not detained, said he didn’t wish to answer questions about narcotics in the home.

Piazza was placed under arrest and told officers that “Alego is bringing a lot of bad stuff around and that he would talk to them about a lot of “big people.” He admitted to selling, saying he had been doing it for about six months at $2 per pill and that it was “easy money.” He said his supplier would front him the “boats” and also supplies methamphetamine and Xanax and that he would do whatever he had to do to stay out of jail.

During the search of the home, officers found 323 fentanyl pills in Piazza’s headboard as well as baggies, a digital scal and a pill splitter on the floor next to the bed. They also found a black 9 mm handgun that had been reported stolen in Rio Rancho Aug. 14; a .22 silver rifle with a wooden stock that had a scratched-off serial number; and an orange KTM dirt bike with an altered serial number, which were all collected from the scened after the search warrant was altered to include firearms and stolen vehicles and parts.

Piazza was then intereviewed at the Rio Rancho Police Department, where he divulged information on narcotic and other criminal activity in Rio Rancho, which was validated through other narcotics investigations. He was not booked at that time and was given specific instructions to maintain contact with officers, agreeing to provide additional information of other ongoing criminal investigations. He did this for a time, but eventually stopped communicating with officers. As a result, an arrest warrant was served on Piazza Nov. 9.