Authorities are searching for a Desert Hot Springs man wanted for allegedly supplying the fentanyl that led to the death of a 17-year-old girl in 2022. Michael Garcia, 22, was identified as the suspect in the fentanyl poisoning of a 17-year-old girl in an unincorporated area near Desert Hot Spring in August 2022, the Riverside
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Some of the families who have lost a loved one due to fentanyl poisoning in Riverside County are healing thanks to the power of art. A “Tree of Life” mural is set up at the Riverside County District Attorney’s office in Indio with the artwork of more than 20 families. The exhibit also has written testimonies from victims
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A 32-year-old Norco woman accused of abusing and allowing her 17-month-old child to ingest fentanyl, causing the toddler’s death, was charged today with second-degree murder and other offenses. Jennifer Johanna Allen was arrested Tuesday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation at her residence in the 100 block of Eighth Street. Along with murder, Allen
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A Norco woman is suspected of allowing her 17-month-old child to ingest fentanyl, causing the tot’s death, authorities said today. The 32-year-old woman was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside Tuesday on suspicion of murder. According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Brosche, patrol deputies were called to the woman’s
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A 27-year-old Coachella man was named among a dozen new federal cases targeting dealers who allegedly sold fentanyl and fake pills containing fentanyl that directly resulted in an overdose. All but one of those cases resulted in the death of at least one person. Edgar Arturo Campos, 27, of Coachella, was arrested on March 13
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By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Fatal overdoses involving fentanyl have surged in recent years in the US and new research shows that deaths among children have increased significantly, mirroring trends among adults. More than 5,000 children and teens have died from overdoses involving fentanyl in the past two decades, according to data published Monday in JAMA
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Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin says weak California laws are partially to blame for an epidemic killing people right here in Riverside County. Reporter Karen Devine’s I-Team Investigation shows how severe the problem is and asks what it will take to make changes to this “Fatal Flaw.” Jennifer Loza of Bermuda Dunes lost her
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Federal officials have issued a grave warning about a new and trending cocktail of illegal street drugs nicknamed “tranq.” Tranq is a mixture of fentanyl and the animal tranquilizer Xylazine. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, tranq has been found in 48 states. Experts say it’s incredibly dangerous and the drug does
Continue ReadingBy KFSN staff Click here for updates on this story MERCED COUNTY, California (KFSN) — Authorities have announced several arrests have been made in Merced County fentanyl busts. Attorney General Rob Bonta, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke and other officials in a press conference Wednesday announced seven people have been arrested in two separate cases
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By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Drug overdose deaths in the US rose to record levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, and a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details the deadly rise of fentanyl. Typically, the CDC reports overdose data by broader drug categories. Fentanyl, for example, is grouped with other synthetic
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A pair from Indio was among the numerous arrested in connection with a multi-year international investigation into the sale of fentanyl and opioids through the dark web. The Indio residents, identified as Holly Adams, 31, and Devlin Hosner, 33, was federally charged in May 2022 with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute
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By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Pamela Smith remembers vividly the last time she saw her only son alive. It was 3:18 a.m. on July 3, 2016, in Fresno, California, and 22-year-old Jackson Smith was lying motionless on a table in an emergency room while a nurse performed chest compressions. Earlier that
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California’s State Senate Public Safety Committee blocked a bill on Tuesday that was proposing harsher penalties for people who sold fentanyl. The bill was called “Alexandra’s Law” after a 20-year-old Riverside County woman who died in 2019 from fentanyl poisoning. The proposed law would have required convicted fentanyl dealers to get a warning from judges.
Continue ReadingBy ANNIE GIMBEL Click here for updates on this story NORTH TEXAS (KTVT) — The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 23 people linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl trafficking operation, which Garland police blame for an uptick in fatal overdoses in the last eight years. “Today, the Justice Department is announcing significant enforcement actions
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Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin today joined the father of a college student who died from fentanyl poisoning, along with a federal law enforcement official, in calling on the state Legislature to pass laws that would mandate warnings to drug suppliers that they could face murder charges if what they sell kills someone. “We
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A man who sold fentanyl pills that killed a 20-year-old college student in Temecula, prompting her father to initiate a nationwide campaign calling for action to break the fentanyl supply chain and bust the dealers, was sentenced today to nine years in federal prison. Brandon Michael McDowell, 24, pleaded guilty in August to possession with
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To combat the ongoing scourge of fentanyl and attempt to prevent a rising death rate connected to the synthetic drug, federal and local authorities today initiated a “Death in Disguise” drug awareness campaign in Riverside. @RivCoDA is Live! https://t.co/GxVaq2lFnB— Riverside County DA’s Office (@RivCoDA) January 26, 2023 “It’s the number one cause of death (in
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Local schools are taking action on the fentanyl epidemic, as the deadly drug circulates in Riverside County. According to Riverside County, there have been 214 fentanyl-related deaths in 2022 so far. The drug comes in several forms and can be laced in any drug. Brightly colored pills are being marketed to be more appealing for
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An arrest has been made in the fentanyl poisoning death of a 22-year-old Coachella Valley resident earlier this year. On January 1, 2022, Travis O’Brien, 22, was found dead in the 69000 block of Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit (ODIN) determined that O’Brien was
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A Desert Hot Springs man is facing murder charges after being accused of supplying the fentanyl that killed a woman one year ago. The death happened on Aug. 12, 2021. Police were called to the 66000 block of Flora Avenue to respond to a 32-year-old female who was having a medical emergency from a possible
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