Jose Sanchez-Rodriguez was found guilty after a jury trial that spanned over five days and included nearly 30 witnesses in Monroe County. Sanchez-Rodriguez supplied a deadly dose of heroin that killed Edward Blew, a 38-year-old Kunkletown man in 2021.

After an extensive investigation, investigators say they learned that Sanchez-Rodriguez, a Latin King Gang Member, had been distributing heroin to upwards of 40 Monroe County residents.

Officials say Sanchez-Rodriguez is not a drug addict and is considered a for-profit drug dealer who preyed upon the vulnerable drug-addicted population in Monroe County. The investigation revealed that he had been distributing drugs for the last 18 years.

After the five-day trial, conducted in August of 2022, the jury of 12 people returned a verdict of guilty on all counts, convicting Sanchez-Rodriguez of drug delivery resulting in death and other related crimes.

The jury heard from multiple expert witnesses which included gang experts, drug experts, and pathologists.

Sanchez-Rodrigues was sentenced to 37-74 years in a state correctional institution. Testimony of the Blew family was heard at sentencing which filled the courtroom with "tears and emotion."

The prosecutor in the case, Assistant District Attorney Richard P White, presented an argument at sentencing regarding Sanchez-Rodriguez’s lack of remorse and lifetime of criminal activities which spanned from drug dealing to gun violence.