Alleged ‘mimic pill’ dealer rejects plea deal; trial set
He is second of two men connected to fatal overdose death

Lester James Suter and  Rick Alexander Arellano

Lester James Suter and Rick Alexander Arellano

An alleged mimic pill dealer has rejected a plea offer by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office and requested a trial be set.

The defendant, Lester James Suter III, was one of two young men arrested shortly after the overdose death of 18-year-old Prescott Valley resident Jared Friederick in June 2018. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Sept. 9, and his trial is currently set for Oct. 9 through 11.

THE ARREST

Suter, 19, and Rick Arellano, 19, were considered friends of Friederick at the time, according to victim statements. Victims told police that Arellano in particular may have sold Friederick some of the drugs that contributed to his death.

Police contacted Arellano, who eventually admitted to purchasing dozens of narcotic pills in Phoenix with Suter and bringing them back to the quad-city area, a police report states. Some of these pills were found in Arellano’s car during this contact. They were tested and found to be mimic pills, imitation 30-milligram Oxycodone laced with fentanyl, a highly-potent synthetic opioid. These were the same type of pills that were found with Friederick at the scene of his overdose.

Arellano told police he had sold two of the pills to Friederick the same day Friederick was found unresponsive in his home. However, the investigation never definitively connected these pills to being the ones that caused Friederick’s overdose. Therefore, Arellano was charged only with possession of narcotic drugs for sale (class 2 felony) and possession of drug paraphernalia (class 6 felony). He pleaded guilty to both of these charges and was placed on supervised probation for seven years and ordered to serve one year in the Yavapai County jail starting April 8, 2019. Due to mitigating factors presented during the case, Arellano was granted work release for the duration of his jail sentence.

SUTER'S CASE

After arresting Arellano, police then contacted Suter at his Prescott Valley home, the police report states.

Suter admitted to possessing several of the pills he and Arellano had purchased, and a warrant was obtained to search his room for them. Five pills matching the ones found in Arellano’s car were found, as were two marijuana grinders with marijuana residue, two black plastic containers with marijuana residue, a black digital scale and other drug-related paraphernalia, the police report states.

Suter was arrested and charged with possession of narcotic drugs for sale (class 2 felony) and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia (class 6 felonies). He has since had several court appearances, the most recent of which was on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. At that hearing, the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office offered Suter the same plea deal they had offered Arellano, but Suter decided he would rather take the case to trial.

If he loses the trial, he will face anywhere between three years and 12½ years in prison.

Follow Max Efrein on Twitter @mefrein, email him at mefrein@prescottaz.com or call him at 928-445-3333 ext. 1105.

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