Trial proceedings to start Monday for man accused in fentanyl death

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - Pretrial motions are slated to get underway Monday ahead of jury selection for the trial of a probationer accused of supplying a deadly dose of fentanyl to a 29-year-old Lake Mathews man.   

John Frederick Sandoval, 31, of Jurupa Valley was arrested in 2023 following a nearly four-month-long Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the death of George Sandoval, a relative of the defendant.   

John Sandoval is charged with second-degree murder.   

During a hearing Friday, the case was assigned to the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Sam Shouka, who is expected to rule on prosecution and defense motions Monday concerning witnesses, evidence, scheduling and other matters.

Jury selection may begin the same day or Tuesday.   

The defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Sean Liebrand, on the morning of April 7, 2023, patrol deputies and paramedics were called to the victim's residence in the 22000 block of Piedras Road, near Gavilan Road, to investigate reports of an unconscious man.

Deputies attempted life-saving measures on the victim until paramedics arrived and continued the effort, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.   

"The coroner's bureau later determined that he died as a result of fentanyl poisoning, and the case was assumed by the sheriff's Overdose Investigations & Narcotics Unit,'' Liebrand said. "As a result of their efforts, the suspect was identified as John Sandoval."  

A search warrant was obtained and served in early June 2023 at the convicted felon's residence in the 8400 block of Saddle Creek Drive, where deputies "deputies seized two kilos of suspected fentanyl,'' the sergeant said.   

He said Sandoval was booked into jail on drug-related charges, not for murder, as the investigation was incomplete. The defendant pleaded guilty less than three weeks later to two counts of possession of controlled substances for sale, as well as being a narcotic addict in possession of a
firearm and possession of an assault rifle.

He was sentenced to two years' felony probation.   

By the end of August 2023, detectives had gathered sufficient evidence to seek a murder charge against him, and the District Attorney's Office filed a new criminal complaint.  

In addition to his most recent conviction, Sandoval has a prior misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence.   

Since February 2021, prosecutors have charged more than three dozen people in connection with fentanyl poisonings. Three prosecutions have resulted in murder convictions.  

Preliminary county health department statistics indicated there were 229 suspected fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2025, compared to 351 confirmed poisonings in 2024, a roughly 40% decline.  

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.  

Fentanyl is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a recipient knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.