A Desert Hot Springs man accused of giving a fatal dose of fentanyl to his then-17-year-old girlfriend in an unincorporated area of Riverside County near Desert Hot Springs two years ago made an initial court appearance today. Michael Garcia pleaded not guilty to felony counts of willful child cruelty and giving a minor a controlled
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Border Patrol agents seized more than two pounds of fentanyl after a police pursuit ended in a crash earlier this week near Coachella. The incident started at 12:20 p.m. when El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents encountered a suspicious white sedan traveling westbound on Interstate 10, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency
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More than a ton of narcotics was seized over the course of July at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today. The 2,627 pounds of drugs found in vehicles seeking to cross into the United States were seized on 50 separate occasions, CBP said. The seized drugs
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An arrest was made following a deadly Fentanyl overdose incident that happened near Desert Hot Springs in 2022. Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said the Desert Hot Springs man was captured Monday at the US-Mexico border. He was accused of providing drugs to a 17-year-old female at a home located off Via Quedo in unincorporated area
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More than 360 combined pounds of fentanyl and cocaine discovered last week hidden in a flatbed truck in Otay Mesa amounted to the largest fentanyl seizure this year by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in California, it was announced today. The Aug. 9 seizure yielded 133.6 pounds of fentanyl powder in 50 packages and
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Two Mexican men caught last year in El Monte with more than 1 million fentanyl pills were each sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison. Florencio Camacho Allan, 29, and co-defendant Gerardo Gaxiola Patiño, 30, each pleaded guilty in April in Los Angeles federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess
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A boost in California National Guard troops at the southern border, including in San Diego County, helped authorities seize more than 1 million fentanyl pills and over 400 pounds of fentanyl powder last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said today. In June, the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force seized 1,068,219 pills and 423 pounds
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A man and his girlfriend who exposed their three children to fentanyl, causing one to suffer a medical emergency, were on probation today after admitting felony charges filed against them. Kamron Charles Sanders, 32, and Joshulyn Denise Penniman, 30, both of Riverside, pleaded guilty on Thursday to three counts of child cruelty under a pretrial
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The Fentanyl Crisis. News Channel 3 I-Team investigator Karen Devine’s intensive investigation into a local border checkpoint. “We are the front line against dangerous drugs and from people entering the communities,” said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Harvey Nunez, who is stationed at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint. Nunez says this checkpoint identifies more smugglers and
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A 38-year-old Riverside County man who distributed fentanyl out of his apartment, sending packets of the powerful synthetic opiate through the U.S. mail, was sentenced today to 19 years in federal prison. Ignacio Alcala pleaded guilty in November in downtown Los Angeles to four federal charges: two counts of distribution of fentanyl, and one
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A San Bernardino County man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring with people to distribute hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills throughout the United States, the Department of Justice announced. Court documents state that on March 17, 2021, George Anthony Manzo, a 37-year-old man
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A man convicted in the fentanyl overdose of a 16-year-old Cathedral City resident was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. The incident took place on December 9, 2022, when Cathedral City Police Officers and Cathedral City Fire Department responded to a fentanyl (drug) overdose involving a 16-year-old. The teen was transported to Desert Regional
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The nephew of the late San Diego Chargers legend Junior Seau pleaded not guilty to a murder charge today for allegedly taking part in a fentanyl sale that led to a man’s fatal overdose. Micah Rodgers Seau, 31, is accused of providing fentanyl pills to 31-year-old Connor Gerhart, leading to the victim’s death on
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United States Border Patrol agents located at the El Centro Sector arrested a subject accused of smuggling 133 pounds of fentanyl on Thursday afternoon. On May 23, around 12 p.m., Border Patrol agents observed a suspicious vehicle while patrolling the border along Interstate 8 east of Calexico, Calif. The vehicle was first noticed swerving in
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Former local state Assemblymember Brian Nestande died of an overdose of fentanyl and cocaine, an autopsy report revealed, as first reported by the Uken Report. Dr. Scott Luzi, who performed the autopsy, wrote in the report that Nestande died of “multiple substance intoxication” after the toxicology report identified a “designer form of fentanyl and a
Continue Reading An Inland Empire lawmaker’s bills to ensure medical providers have tests to identify a person suffering fentanyl poisoning, as well as provide expanded access to drug therapy, were approved today by the California State Senate. Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-Beaumont, introduced Senate Bills 1442 and 1468 in the current legislative session as part of
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29 pounds of fentanyl were discovered during a traffic stop on Interstate 10 in Indio, Border Patrol announced on Tuesday. The discovery happened last Wednesday at around 9:30 AM near Golf Center Parkway. Border Patrol agents in agency-marked vehicles were operating in conjunction with Operation Apollo on Interstate 10 near Golf Center Parkway. According to
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A U.S. citizen living in Mexico was arrested after a stop on Interstate 10 in the Coachella Valley after allegedly being found with nearly $2 million worth of fentanyl pills in her vehicle. Adriana Galindo, 34, of San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, was arrested Tuesday in Indio, according to the Department of Justice. She is
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Border Patrol agents found nearly 10 pounds of fentanyl hidden inside a car battery at the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint, east of the Salton Sea. Details on the bust remain limited. We’ve reached out the U.S. Customs and Borders Protection for more information. Get the News Channel 3 app here.
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A Riverside County man, who admitted to selling fentanyl to a 33-year-old man who ingested the powerful synthetic opioid and suffered a fatal overdose, was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison. Sergio Maya, 33, of Lake Elsinore, was sentenced in Los Angeles federal court by U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who also
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