A probationer accused of supplying a deadly dose of fentanyl to a 29-year-old man from Lake Mathews entered a not guilty plea to second-degree murder on Tuesday.
John Frederick Sandoval, a 28-year-old resident of Jurupa Valley, was arrested in late August after a four-month-long investigation conducted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department into the death of Gorge Sandoval. While their relationship remains unconfirmed, it is believed that Gorge Sandoval might be related to the defendant.
John Sandoval appeared before Superior Court Judge Emma Smith, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for November 2 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant is currently being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to Sheriff’s Sergeant Sean Liebrand, on the morning of April 7, patrol deputies and paramedics responded to a call at the victim’s residence on Piedras Road, near Gavilan Road, reporting an unconscious man. Deputies performed life-saving measures on Gorge Sandoval until paramedics arrived, but their efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The coroner’s bureau later determined that Gorge died as a result of fentanyl poisoning, and the case was transferred to the sheriff’s Overdose Investigations & Narcotics Unit,” said Liebrand. “Through their investigation, the suspect was identified as John Sandoval.”
A search warrant was executed at John Sandoval’s residence on Saddle Creek Drive in early June, where deputies discovered and confiscated two kilograms of suspected fentanyl.
Sandoval was initially booked into jail on drug-related charges and not for murder, as the investigation was still ongoing. However, on June 20, he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of controlled substances for sale, as well as charges of being a narcotic addict in possession of a firearm and possessing an assault rifle.
Sandoval was sentenced to two years of felony probation.
By the end of August, detectives had gathered enough evidence to pursue a murder charge against Sandoval, leading to the filing of a new criminal complaint by the District Attorney’s Office.
Aside from his recent conviction, Sandoval also has a prior misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence.
Since February 2021, approximately twenty-four individuals countywide have faced murder charges in connection with fentanyl overdose deaths. In August, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office secured its first second-degree murder conviction against a fentanyl dealer, Vicente David Romero, for providing a lethal dose of the synthetic opioid to a 26-year-old woman from Temecula in 2020.
Romero is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Public safety officials report that there were 503 confirmed fentanyl-related deaths countywide last year, compared to just under 400 in 2021. This represents a 200-fold increase from 2016, when there were only two reported deaths.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration states that fentanyl is primarily produced in overseas labs, particularly in China, and trafficked into the United States by cartels through the U.S.-Mexico border. Fentanyl, which is 80-100 times more potent than morphine, can be mixed with various street drugs and prescription medications without the user’s knowledge. Ingesting just two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal.
Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45 years old.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
