Guilty plea entered on fentanyl trafficking charge
Oct. 2—A 37-year-old Joplin man pleaded guilty Monday to trafficking in fentanyl in a plea deal capping the sentence he might receive at no more than seven years.
Reynaldo Solorzano Jr. changed his plea to guilty on a charge of second-degree trafficking in drugs at a hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court. His plea deal would dismiss a related misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Circuit Judge Dean Dankelson delayed formal acceptance or rejection of the plea bargain and ordered the completion of a sentencing assessment prior to a sentencing hearing Nov. 13.
Solorzano was arrested Sept. 18, 2022, when Webb City police responding to a report of a shoplifting in progress learned that the couple involved had fled the scene.
The defendant was located a short time later on Ellis Street and taken into custody. A search of his person turned up a foil containing 1.7 grams of a substance that tested positive for fentanyl, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
