Cathedral City man arrested in connection with 22-year-old’s fentanyl poisoning death

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 a victim of a Fentanyl Poisoning.

LOCAL: Desert Hot Springs man facing murder charge after fentanyl overdose death

Fentanyl is known to be 80-100 times more potent than morphine and is a popular additive, seamlessly mixed into any number of narcotics and pharmaceuticals.

On Thursday, the Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. announced that the investigation led authorities to determine that the suspect, a 25-year-old from Cathedral City, was believed to be the person responsible for selling the Fentanyl that killed O’Brien.

The suspect was arrested on Wednesday in at a motel on the 69000 block of Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage, county jail records show.

Sheriff's officials added that the suspect was also in possession of a large number of narcotics at the time of his arrest. He was also out on bail for an unrelated charge.

Check Out: Fentanyl’s heartbreaking impact and how Riverside County is tackling the deadly drug

The suspect was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio and faces murder charges. He remains in custody on $1 million bail.

As part of our station policy, we don't publish a suspect's ID until charges are officially filed with the Riverside County District.

The suspect is expected to appear in court on Friday.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Investigator Hollingsworth at 951-955-1700.

Fentanyl Deaths

Late last year, Riverside County District Attorney Hestrin told News Channel 3 that fentanyl deaths are up by more than 800% in the last five years in the county.

According to Riverside County, there were at least 386 unintentional fentanyl deaths throughout 2021 in the county. That’s up by more than 100 deaths from the year before.

So far this year, there have been 118 fentanyl overdose deaths in Riverside County, that's according to county data from Jan. 1 to April 30. From just March 30 to April 30, the county reported 39 additional fentanyl overdose deaths.

The majority of fentanyl overdose deaths are unintentional. Hestrin told News Channel 3 in May that unintentional fentanyl deaths are growing more common.

“What's really, so different about fentanyl, it's the process of overdose, it's not really overdosing anymore," Hestrin added, "It's not a long process that involves addiction and using the drug routinely. It's happening a lot on the first time or the first second time that someone is taking one of these pills and death is occurring.”

You can find a live updated chart of overdose deaths below:

Hestrin also noted that the DEA estimates that 40% of counterfeit pills on the street contain a fatal dose of fentanyl.

At the start of the year, Riverside County law enforcement officials joined a state lawmaker and families of victims "poisoned'' by fentanyl, to call on the public to support legislative and other efforts aimed at charging dealers with murder and manslaughter.

Watch: RivCo leaders discuss the impact of fentanyl, push for legislation to charge dealers with murder

In May, a Palm Desert woman accused of selling fentanyl that led to a man's death was charged with one count of murder. The woman

Loved ones told News Channel 3's Samantha Lomibao that the man said he took a pill for pain relief, following a recent dental procedure.

"My brother- this is not something you would have expected from my brother so I think everybody til this day is still shocked"

In December, a man who sold a 20-year-old woman a fentanyl-laced pill was arrested and indicted on federal charges. He pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl last month and is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

We've spoken to the woman's father about the case and his fight for legislative change.