SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Andrey Neshcheret, 37, is currently in the federal prison system, serving a 76-month sentence for the distribution of cocaine and fentanyl, though his current location is not listed on the Bureau of Prisons website. He was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine plus a special assessment per count of $100,000, though the government was recommending the low end of the range.

Neshcheret, who at one time was a supervisor at California Burger in South Lake Tahoe, was arrested in January 2023 after a high-speed chase in Douglas County

According to court documents, a confidential source told authorities in January 2022 that Neshcheret was their source of supply for cocaine in the South Lake Tahoe region. This source had purchased cocaine from Neshcheret regularly in the period leading up to January 2022. In 2022, Neshcheret had been displaying to the confidential source several hundred blue tablets suspected of being fentanyl.

At the direction of law enforcement, the source contacted Neshcheret and arranged to purchase one ounce of cocaine and 20 fentanyl pills. On or about March 10, 2022, the unnamed source met with the defendant to make the purchase. Both the cocaine and pills were confirmed to contain fentanyl.

A search warrant was executed at a South Lake Tahoe residence where Neshcheret was renting a room in mid-January 2023. Inside his locked room were 114.7 grams of methamphetamine, 40.3 grams of cocaine, 22.2 grams of fentanyl, and 19.5 grams of a fentanyl analogue. Neshcheret was not present at the time the warrant was executed, but when law enforcement located him, he fled and engaged in a 100-mile-per-hour chase that took him into Nevada, where the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) located him on US395 near the Silver City RV Park. DCSO was joined by the Nevada Highway Patrol as they pursued the vehicle that led them up and down Clear Creek, to Indian Hills, then back to Clear Creek by Bodine’s, where Neshcheret hit a vehicle. DCSO took him into custody at gunpoint. As law enforcement was transporting Neshcheret, he overdosed on fentanyl according to DSCO, so the patrol car pulled over, and he was treated by medics and transported to the hospital.

Located in the vehicle were 10.836 grams of cocaine, 4.853 grams of cocaine base, 4.750 grams of fentanyl, 4.216 grams of heroin, and 8.6 grams of methamphetamine.

The case concerning the drugs found in his room in South Lake Tahoe is the one that led to federal charges and conviction after he pleaded guilty.

Still outstanding are the two Douglas County cases – one from the 2023 case with alleged eluding of law enforcement, and the other is for the alleged sales of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and arranging to sell a controlled substance. 

Neshcheret was in federal custody when those two court cases came up, and he has failure-to-appear warrants out for his arrest in Douglas County. Through his court-appointed attorney, Neshcheret wants the warrants lifted so he can participate in work-release programs while serving his time. There were two Tahoe Justice Court appearances by his legal counsel in January 2026, with another set for February.

Since Neshcheret does not appear to be in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, their website states, “If an individual is listed as ‘Released’ or ‘Not in BOP Custody’ and no facility location is indicated, the inmate is no longer in BOP custody, however, the inmate may still be in the custody of some other correctional/criminal justice system/law enforcement entity, or on parole or supervised release.”

His scheduled release date is June 7, 2028.