14-03-2025
Grand Forks man accused of distributing fentanyl inside jail
Mar. 13—GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks County Correctional Center inmate is accused of distributing fentanyl within the jail after returning from his initial court appearance, allegedly smuggling the drugs in by concealing them inside his court paperwork, according to court documents.
Jeremie Richard Castoreno, 42, was charged Wednesday, March 12, with Class A felony controlled substance delivery in a correctional facility, which has a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
On Dec. 2, the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force responded to the GFCCC for two inmates who had overdosed, according to a declaration of probable cause summary filed in the case. They administered Narcan before transporting the individuals to Altru Hospital.
A task force officer reviewed video surveillance of the jail pod from that day, and observed Castoreno returning from court with his paperwork in hand, the declaration said. A little more than an hour-and-a-half into the video, Castoreno and another inmate are seen going into a cell, and another person enters the same cell within one minute.
Castoreno exits the cell after being inside it for approximately nine minutes, carrying his court paperwork, this time folded in half, the declaration said.
GFCCC staff were called nearly two hours into the video to assist the other two inmates, who were found unresponsive with labored breathing, according to the declaration. Task force agents alleged finding Castoreno's paperwork with a corner of the paper ripped off, as well as a paper bindle containing a white powder that later tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.
Castoreno had been in custody at the jail for less than a week, and had been placed in that specific pod approximately two days prior to the incident. Another inmate housed in the pod said only one person had come into the pod at the time of the overdoses, "so it is not that hard to figure out who provided the fentanyl," the declaration said.
Castoreno's initial appearance took place Thursday morning, March 13. His next court appearance, a preliminary hearing/arraignment, is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 21. He has two additional pending cases involving methamphetamine and fentanyl crimes.
