A 37-year-old man suspected of supplying a lethal dose of fentanyl to a 30-year-old man in Palm Desert is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday.
Gregory Michael Gauto, a resident of Palm Desert, was charged with murder on June 6, according to court records. His arraignment will take place at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Thursday.
The Palm Desert sheriff’s station received a report of a deceased man, identified as Brandon Brower in court documents, on September 26, 2022. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Master Investigator Robert Cornett stated that Brower’s death was suspected to be a result of fentanyl poisoning.
After conducting the initial investigation, the case was handed over to the Special Investigations Bureau Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Team, as per Cornett.
According to a statement in support of Gauto’s arrest warrant filed by Cornett, investigators examined a cell phone and discovered messages from Brower requesting fentanyl pills from an unidentified woman. When she mentioned being stuck in Palm Springs, Brower allegedly contacted Gauto.
“There were messages indicating that Gregory drove to Brandon’s house to exchange fentanyl for Klonopins,” alleged Cornett in the warrant. “The messages show that Gregory arrived at Brandon’s house and delivered the fentanyl, even warning Brandon to `be careful’.”
Brower had deleted some of the messages from his phone, but they were recovered using the department’s software, according to Cornett. Gauto was also allegedly present at Brower’s apartment on September 26, 2022, at 4:16 a.m. based on location services.
During an interview with Gauto, he reportedly admitted being at Brower’s apartment that morning and obtaining Klonopins from him, said Cornett. Gauto also mentioned that one of his friends had died from fentanyl, which was confirmed by the Coroner’s Bureau.
Cornett added that he found records of previous messages in which Gauto claimed that two or three of his friends had died from fentanyl in the years prior to Brower being given the fatal dose.
Gauto was arrested on June 7 near the intersection of Plaza Way and Highway 111 in Palm Desert according to inmate records. He is currently being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $1 million bail.
If you have any information regarding the death investigation, please contact Cornett at 951-955-1700.
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