A woman from Norco, aged 32, has been sentenced to 15 years to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for the death of her 17-month-old daughter due to fentanyl ingestion.
The woman, Jennifer Johanna Allen, reached a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. As part of the agreement, a child cruelty charge and a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation were dropped.
The sentence was certified by Superior Court Judge Matthew Perantoni during a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to Sgt. Steve Brosche of the sheriff’s department, deputies responded to a call at Allen’s home on Eighth Street on May 9. They found her daughter, identified as “J.A.”, unconscious and unresponsive. Despite efforts to revive her, the baby girl did not survive.
“Evidence obtained during the investigation indicated that fentanyl played a role in the child’s death,” Sgt. Brosche stated.
Allen was arrested without incident and had no previous felony convictions in Riverside County.
The county has seen a significant increase in fentanyl-related fatalities, with 503 confirmed cases last year, compared to just under 400 in 2021. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is smuggled into the United States by cartels and is much more potent than morphine. Ingesting as little as two milligrams can be lethal, and the drug is often mixed into other substances without the user’s knowledge.
Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
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