Bergenske.
On February 4th
, 2021 agents with the
Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) received information that
Gary Bergenske (60 years old
from Eureka) was going to be
picking up a large quantity of heroin in the Fortuna area. Bergenske
is on felony probation in Humboldt County for drug sales. Agents
conducted surveillance on Bergenske and watched him meet a heroin
source in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 700 block of
South Fortuna Blvd. in Fortuna.
HCDTF
agents followed the source away from the meeting and observed him
driving without his headlights on and then he failed to yield for
Evidence seized from the scene of the crime. | Photos provided by the Humboldt County Drug Task Force.
Humboldt County Drug Task Force press release:
In early January of 2021 special agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) initiated an investigation into the fentanyl distribution operation of Joseff Gene Greek (34 years old from San Francisco). Greek is currently on Federal probation for firearms violations. Agents had developed probable cause to believe Greek was transporting large quantities of fentanyl from San Francisco to Humboldt County on a regular basis.
Joseff Gene Greek.
During the final weekend of January 2021 agents conducted surveillance on Greek as he travelled from San Francisco to Sacramento, then to Mendocino County, and eventually on Sunday morning January 31st , 2021 Greek entered Humboldt County and checked into a hotel room in the area of 4th St. and B St. in Eureka. HCDTF agents obtained a search warrant for Greek and his hotel room.
TODAY in COURT: Accused West Del Norte Shooter Pleads Not Guilty; Sex Trafficking Suspect Hopes for Deal; Waterfront Murder Trial Delayed Again
A Eureka man suspected of a recent shooting on West Del Norte Street pleaded not guilty today to attempted murder and a variety of drug and weapons charges.
Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo entered the pleas on behalf of Braylan Jay Lanier, suspected of attempting to kill a 37-year-old man who was shot several times and left lying in the street the night of Jan. 14.
Judge Timothy Canning ordered Lanier, 26, to be held without bail because he was out of jail on supervised release when he allegedly shot the other man. Bail on the attempted murder charge was set at $750,000.
A powerful painkiller up to 100 times more potent than morphine has been linked to several overdoses and four people dying this month in Northern California.
Shasta County authorities believe the drug fentanyl led to the deaths of three men whose bodies were found Monday at a Redding residence.
Less than two weeks earlier, a rash of overdoses and one death were reported in Lake County where a test of the capsules also pointed to the synthetic opioid.
Fentanyl is legally prescribed for pain relief, often for cancer patients, but the substance is also sought by drug users on the black market. Its illegal use has been documented as part of the nationwide opioid crisis, but quantities of it are showing up in the North State and it s a rising cause of death in Shasta County.
During the investigation into the January 14, 2021, attempted murder shooting, a Eureka
Police Department Detective was able to positively identify 26-year-old Braylan Lanier
of Eureka as the shooter.
On January 21, 2021, at approximately 5:40 pm, while on surveillance in the vicinity of
Harris and “K” Streets in Eureka, the Eureka Police Department’s Problem Oriented
Policing (POP) unit, assisted by agents from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force,
witnessed Lanier enter a market in the 3100 block of “K” Street. Detectives entered
the market and took Lanier into custody without incident for Attempted Murder.
During a search of Lanier, POP Detectives removed a loaded firearm from Lanier’s