The All Crimes Enforcement Team arrested a man in Craig on March 27 for alleged drug distribution and possession, as well as tampering with evidence, according to the arrest affidavit.

Javier Amaya-Hernandez, 49, is charged with unlawful distribution of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The All Crimes Enforcement Team consists of officers from the Routt and Moffat county sheriff’s offices and the Steamboat, Craig and Hayden police departments. According to Bryan Gonzales, the task force commander, the goal of the team is to “identify, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Northwest Colorado.”

According to the affidavit, an informant told a deputy with the All Crimes Enforcement Team about possible drug activity in a residence on Cottonwood Avenue in Craig.

The informant told law enforcement that the person living at that address went by “Cholo.” The affidavit states that law enforcement recognized the name from previous investigations involving fentanyl distribution.

According to the affidavit, the informant noted that Amaya-Hernandez allegedly travels “out of town” and brings fentanyl pills and powder back to Craig and sells them.

The All Crimes Enforcement Team searched the residence around 12:40 p.m. Thursday. Four people were inside the residence at the time of the search and were all told to wait outside.

According to the affidavit, Amaya-Hernandez “took the longest to come to the door,” and his hands appeared wet.

During the search, law enforcement found “foil segments with black residue and a small baggie in the bowl of the toilet,” states the affidavit. 

There was also a bag that had been “partially flushed” containing a “green powder,” according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states law enforcement found a black drawstring bag in the toilet pipes after removing the toilet. 

Inside the bag, there were about “40 to 50 suspected counterfeit blue oxycodone pills containing fentanyl,” two bags wrapped in aluminum foil and one small empty bag. One of the bags contained a “green pasty substance,” and the other contained a “white chalky substance,” according to the affidavit.

There was a “small round screw top plastic container with more of the green pasty substance inside a small red bag, small bag of suspected methamphetamine, a small chunk of suspected fentanyl powder,” as well as syringes, straws used to inhale cocaine, aluminum foil segments with “black residue,” meth pipes and an empty methadone botle, states the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, the suspected substances later tested positive for fentanyl and meth. Law enforcement found a total of 40.82 grams of fentanyl pills and powder, and 1.16 grams of meth.

The affidavit states another individual allegedly involved in drug possession was arrested at the time of the search. Taylor Dean, 29, is in custody at the Moffat County Jail under a $50 cash-only bond, according to the Moffat County Combined Court clerk’s office.

According to documents provided by the Moffat County Combined Court clerk’s office, Amaya-Hernandez is in custody at the Moffat County Jail and his bond is set at $100,000.

Amaya-Hernandez was previously arrested in 2023 for fentanyl distribution and was sentenced to four years of confinement in the Colorado Department of Corrections with one year of parole, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit notes Amaya-Hernandez had two outstanding warrants at the time of his arrest.

According to Moffat County Jail booking sheets, Amaya-Hernandez’s and Dean’s arrests are the third and fourth arrests in Moffat County involving drug distribution and possession in the last week. 

Most recently, the All Crimes Enforcement Team arrested a man for alleged vehicle theft and fentanyl distribution on Friday, one day after Amaya-Hernandez and Dean were arrested. Valentin Velez, 43, was allegedly in possession of 126 blue M30 counterfeit oxycodone pills, 7.76 grams of fentanyl powder, according to the arrest affidavit.

On March 25, Craig police arrested a woman, Teyha Colvin, 26, for allegedly possessing 143 fentanyl pills.

According to Gonzales, drug investigations are ongoing throughout Northwest Colorado and are not specific to Craig and Moffat County.

“There’s a big presence (of drugs) in both communities, unfortunately,” said Gonzales. “Sometimes we go where the investigations take us, and lately, they’ve been keeping us here in Moffat County. But there are investigations going on in Steamboat and Routt County as well.”