Ex-con who supplied deadly dose of fentanyl to Banning teen sentenced
A probationer who provided a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 15-year-old girl was sentenced today to 12 years in state prison.
James Leon Dailey, 51, of Banning was arrested last July following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the death of the young girl, also of Banning.
Dailey last week pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter under a plea agreement with the District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped charges of second-degree murder and child cruelty against him.
During a hearing at the Banning Justice Center Friday, Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Sean Liebrand, in early January 2023, the girl was reported missing by her family, culminating in an investigation that led to the Hathaway Creek area on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians' reservation.
"Upon arrival, deputies located a deceased female in the backseat of a vehicle,'' Liebrand said.
He said investigators quickly confirmed the identity of the victim.
"The coroner's bureau ultimately determined that [girl] died as a result of fentanyl poisoning,'' the sergeant said.
Central Homicide Unit detectives began gathering evidence, which pointed to Dailey as the supplier of the drug. The felon was charged in the case five months later.
It was unclear how long Dailey and the victim had been acquainted, or the nature of their relationship.
According to court records, the defendant had prior convictions for arson, domestic violence, false imprisonment, burglary and felony evading. He had served time in state prison.
Since February 2021, more than two dozen people countywide have been charged in connection with fentanyl poisonings.
In November, the District Attorney's Office closed the books on its first fentanyl murder case to go before a jury, culminating in the conviction of 34-year-old Vicente David Romero, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the 2020 death of a Temecula woman.
According to Department of Public Health data, there were 388 confirmed fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2023, a 23% decline from 2022, when there were 503.
Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the synthetic opioid is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels.
The drug is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.
Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the synthetic opioid is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels. The drug is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.
Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 years old, statistics show.
In May, Karen Devine investigated local efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis in the Coachella Valley. Hear from Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin and State Assemblymember Greg Wallis, as well as a parent who lost their child, in her special report, "Fatal Flaw."
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