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WILKES-BARRE — A Luzerne County judge declared a mistrial when a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the drug trafficking case against Miguel Angel Castanon-Avila on Wednesday.
Castanon-Avila, 54, and Gerinardo Emilio Rivera, 53, were arrested when a search warrant was executed at a home on Delaware Street, Plains Township, on July 1, 2020.
A joint investigation involving police in Kingston, Plains Township, Wilkes-Barre, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force and state police searched the house finding 20 grams of fentanyl, 122 suboxone strips and $3,300 cash, according to court records.
Castanon-Avila faced a jury trial before Judge David W. Lupas on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The jury deliberated for nearly four hours unable to reach a verdict, resulting in Lupas declaring a mistrial.
Attorneys Joseph Sklarosky Sr. and Michael A. Sklarosky represented Castanon-Avila. Deputy Assistant District Attorney Thomas Hogans and Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Mulhern prosecuted.
Prosecutors are expected to retry Castanon-Avila in May.
Rivera pled guilty to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and was sentenced to nine months in jail and two years probation on May 12, 2021.
Rivera was one of nine people arrested by the state Office of Attorney General and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force in June 2022, for his alleged role in leading a widespread drug trafficking ring in Luzerne County. Rivera has since been indicted by a federal grand jury.