Press Release
San Diego Resident Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Distributing Fentanyl that Resulted in 15-Year-Old’s Death
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California
For Further Information, Contact:
Assistant U. S. Attorney Adam Gordon (619) 546-6720
SAN DIEGO - Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap, a 21-year-old San Diego resident, was sentenced in federal court today to 156 months in prison for distributing counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that resulted in the death of 15-year-old Coronado High School sophomore Clark Jackson Salveron on May 12, 2021.
Beltranlap pleaded guilty in July, admitting that he used his Instagram account to coordinate a drug transaction with Salveron. According to admissions in his plea agreement, Beltranlap warned Salveron to only take half the pill because it was “strong as hell.”
According to the government’s sentencing memo, on the morning of May 13, 2021, law enforcement officials and paramedics responded to a 911 call from a home in Coronado. Salveron was found deceased in his bedroom. The Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that the teen had died as the result of “acute fentanyl intoxication.”
During a search of Salveron’s room at that time, law enforcement observed a small desk in the corner next to his closet. On the desk was a laptop still open and running. Detectives were able to see the teen’s personal Instagram account which included a conversation with the user account “chefkaylar.” A subsequent database search showed that the username “chefkaylar” was registered to Beltranlap with an address in San Diego. The messages between the two showed that the night before the victim’s death, Salveron and Beltranlap discussed the purchase of “percs.” The next day, law enforcement located and arrested Beltranlap.
Per the plea agreement, Beltranlap and the government stipulated that the Sentencing Guidelines for distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and/or serious bodily injury would apply.
During today’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo noted that by dealing drugs, the defendant went for the “easy money” with “callous disregard for the poison he was putting into the community and into a very young victim.”
“A 15-year-old child tragically lost his life to fentanyl, leaving behind a devastated family and community.", said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Parents – the defendant in this case advertised these counterfeit blues on Instagram and Snapchat. I implore you to actively take steps to ensure that your children are not buying drugs online. We invite you to review the Fentanyl Toolkit which describes the various codes used by drug dealers in their online advertisements: https://www.sdpdatf.org/community-parent-fentanyl-toolkit.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the DEA Overdose Response Team for their excellent work on this case.
“Drug dealers are using social media to target kids,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly Howe. “Parents, be vigilant about checking your children’s social media, it may save their life. For additional information visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill for resources on fake pills and fentanyl.”
“One child’s death from fentanyl is far too many,” said Chad Plantz, special agent in charge, HSI San Diego. “HSI and our San Diego law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to identify and hold accountable those who sell poisonous drugs in our community.”
“A family lost a child and that is more than any family should have to experience,” said Coronado Police Chief Chuck Kaye. “We are grateful for all the work that went into today’s sentencing.”
In the government’s sentencing memorandum, the Salveron was described by his family as a fun-loving kid with braces, a leader and role model to his younger sister and twin brothers, and a volunteer who always lovingly assisted his disabled grandparents. He was a “kind, sweet, helpful young man who cared deeply about his family.”
In the memo, the boy’s parents described the devastating impact of their son’s death.
“I will never recover from my oldest son being poisoned and taken from me,” his mother said. “Clark had a full life to live and now it’s gone. I will never see my son, graduate high school, go to college, get married, and have grandchildren.”
In explaining how Clark’s death has affected him, the victim’s father wrote: “Everything I did was with (my son). I don’t really go out anymore. We hiked, biked, he was my partner through nature. I don’t feel very deserving…I miss him so much. I cry every day. I think of him all day. I still can’t believe it.”
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Diego Police Department, the California Department of Health Care Services and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The DEA created the DEA Overdose Response Team (formerly Team 10) which investigates overdose deaths in San Diego County. Investigators from the Overdose Response Team, as well as the Coronado Police Department and NTF Team 3, contributed to the investigation into Salveron’s death.
DEFENDANT Case Number 21-CR-3442 CAB
Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap Age: 21 San Diego, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Distribute of Fentanyl– Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison
AGENCY
Drug Enforcement Administration
Homeland Security Investigations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Coronado Police Department
San Diego Police Department
California Department of Health Care Services
Updated January 24, 2023
Topic
Opioids
Component