“Families, communities, law enforcement officers and criminal justice professionals are working together to stop the trend of these tragic fentanyl-related deaths by identifying those who peddle the drug. This is a crisis that is having a forever impact on families.” – CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
SAN DIEGO – On January 4, 2023, Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap, 21, of San Diego, was sentenced to 156 months in prison for distributing counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that resulted in the death of Clark Jackson Salveron,15, of Coronado, 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 officers 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.
This case is the result of ongoing efforts by the:
- S. Attorney’s Office
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Homeland Security Investigations
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Coronado Police Department
- San Diego Police Department
- California Department of Health Care Services
