Santa Rosa heroin dealers reach plea deal

Two brothers police said were behind a major Santa Rosa-based heroin and methamphetamine ring reached plea bargains with prosecutors Thursday carrying multiple-year jail terms.

Ulises Sandoval-Rivera, 31, and Artemio Sandoval-Rivera, 27, were arrested earlier this year as detectives sought ?to stem a spike in heroin overdose ?deaths.

“Our focus was to immediately stop the supply if we could,” said Santa Rosa police Sgt. Rich Celli, supervisor of the narcotics enforcement unit. “It was, ‘We have to do something now.’?”

Ulises Sandoval-Rivera was arrested Jan. 25 after undercover officers ?caught him selling drugs within 1,000 feet of Kawana Springs Elementary School.

He was carrying a pound of methamphetamine and 7 ounces of heroin, prosecutors said. Under a plea agreement, he will be sentenced to five years in the county jail.

Artemio Sandoval-Rivera was arrested Feb. 1 while involved in trafficking activity. He was found to be in possession of 3 pounds of methamphetamine and 3 pounds of heroin, along with about $20,000 in cash. He will be sentenced to six years in jail.

There were five overdose deaths in the county during a 10-day period in April, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.

In 2015, there were 15 deaths due to heroin overdoses in the county, according to California Department of Public Health data.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.