Suspect in $1.6M fentanyl case fails to show for court hearing

A man who was released on nonmonetary bond after police said they caught him with $1.6 million in fentanyl in Pittsburgh failed to show for a court hearing Monday morning in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, 27, of New York did not answer repeated phone calls by pretrial services over the past several days. Messages left with his father and grandmother also were not returned, said Lindsay Black of pretrial services.

Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Cepeda following the hearing.

Police said agents arrested Cepeda outside the Greyhound station in Pittsburgh on Aug. 31 with 9 kilograms — or 450,000 doses — of fentanyl. Police estimated its street value at $1.6 million.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said Cepeda had traveled from New York to Pittsburgh that day. Law enforcement officers, who were working at the bus station, saw Cepeda with a backpack and suitcase.

They said he went out of his way to avoid a police dog. The complaint said Cepeda went into the restroom and emerged smelling strongly of cologne — a common tactic used to obscure any smell of narcotics, according to police.

When Cepeda exited the station and attempted to leave in a van, police stopped him and asked to search his backpack. They said he consented, and they found a kilo of cocaine. A later search of the suitcase revealed 9 kilograms of fentanyl.

At Cepeda’s arraignment the next day, District Judge Xander Orenstein granted a nonmonetary bond, meaning that he was released without having to pay any cash.

Pretrial services recommended that Cepeda not be released, Black told the court.

Orenstein disregarded that recommendation, Borkowski said.

“The nonmonetary bond was inappropriate given the nature of the charges and lack of a local connection,” Borkowski said Monday.

On Thursday, District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said his office was not made aware of Orenstein’s decision and that it was “very dangerous.”

At Monday’s bond hearing, Chief Deputy Trial District Attorney William Petulla asked Black to recount to the court Cepeda’s history.

The defendant has a criminal record that includes seven prior arrests, two misdemeanor convictions and two pending cases in New York — one for grand larceny and one for sexual assault.

Black said that Cepeda had a $10,000 cash bond in the sexual assault case, which is expected to be revoked based on the Pittsburgh arrest.

Orenstein, who was elected in 2021 to fill the magistrate seat that covers Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Polish Hill, campaigned on social justice issues, including stopping the use of cash bail.

In a judicial survey submitted to the ACLU’s Smart Justice initiative, Orenstein said they would carefully consider a person’s history and characteristics before setting any bail condition.

“Factors such as employment, family situation, housing status and community ties will be critical in the decision-making process when considering setting bail,” Orenstein wrote. “As the purpose of bail is to ensure the defendant’s appearance at court, not to punish anyone before they are convicted due to socioeconomic status, I will be very careful in considering each case that would come before me.”

Orenstein said they would not set bail based on a person’s charge alone and that any cash bail would be affordable.

When asked last week about the decision on Cepeda’s release, Orenstein declined to comment on the pending case.