A Palm Desert man was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a fentanyl overdose death last year. Gregory Gauto, 37, was arrested on last week by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Gauto’s arrest was the result of a months-long investigation into the suspected fentanyl poisoning death of a 30-year-old man in Palm Desert
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The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a summer-long run of the public service announcement campaign Faces of Fentanyl which originally aired last October. CEO Jeff Van Wagen proposed a $275,000 media contract with 3 Olives Media, who will re-distribute the campaign across media platforms. 3 Olives Media has also been contracted to handle a
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A probationer and his girlfriend accused of exposing their three children to fentanyl, causing one to suffer a medical emergency, are slated to appear for a preliminary hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice later this month to determine whether the charges against them are justified. Kamron Charles Sanders, 31, Joshulyn Denise Penniman, 29, both of
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By TRÂN NGUYỄN, ADAM BEAM and SOPHIE AUSTIN SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week. Legislators in the Assembly and Senate debated measures on Wednesday as
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On Thursday, the House passed the “Halt Fentanyl Act” with a 289 to 133 vote. The legislation will permanently list fentanyl under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act which prevents fentanyl-related substances from becoming street-legal and gives law enforcement authority to seize fentanyl, also outlawing other variations of the drug. Visit Our ‘Fentanyl Crisis’ Section For More Local Stories
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More than 200 arrests were made and over 4,700 pounds of fentanyl were seized over the past two months, in what law enforcement officials described today as an “unprecedented” increase in enforcement actions against alleged drug smugglers, traffickers and dealers in the Southern and Central Districts of California. The law enforcement campaign dubbed Operation Blue
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Update 8/27/24 Michael Garcia was arrested at the US-Mexico border in Calexico. He remains in custody on $75,000 Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates. Original Report 5/17/23 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.
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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
Continue Reading 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
Continue ReadingBy 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
Continue ReadingBy 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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