SALEM – A former Lynn man, who went on trial this week for peddling heroin near a park in Salem in 2006, opted instead to plea his case before closing summation and received two years in jail.Saul C. Fuentes, 29, who last lived at 413 Boston St. in Lynn, pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin and drug violation near a park before Superior Court Judge Howard J. Whitehead.Fuentes decided to negotiate his case and plea Thursday afternoon just moments before Assistant District Attorney Marsha H. Slingerland and defense lawyer Raymond D. Buso were to begin their closing arguments following a two-day trial.On April 7, 2006 Fuentes admitted he drove Carlos J. Severino, 21, and Seth Y. Reynoso, 26, to Franklin and Osborne Streets, near the Furlong Park in Salem, where two bags of heroin for $100 were transacted in a hand-to-hand drug deal with an undercover officer.At the time, Reynoso was driving a silver 2002 Mercedes Benz, with Rhode Island plates on the car.The 221 days Fuentes spent awaiting trial were deemed served for the distribution of heroin charge. He was sentenced to another two years in jail for the charge of drug violation near a park, which will commence immediately.Fuentes defaulted on the case at trial in 2009 and was picked up in Worcester last March on the warrant.Severino, who lived in Rhode Island at the time of the offense, pleaded guilty last year to his role in the case and received a year in jail with two years of probation.Reynoso, who last lived in Lynn, defaulted on the case at trial last year. A fourth person, Hector Hernandez, who lived in New Jersey at the time, defaulted on the case in Salem District Court and has not been seen since 2007. An indictment warrant is out for his arrest.Salem Detective William Jennings spearheaded the investigation and arrests.
