Category: fentanyl deaths

Man Sentenced 13 Years for Selling Fentanyl That Killed Coronado 15-Year-Old

SAN DIEGO—A San Diego man who sold a fentanyl-laced pill to a 15-year-old Coronado High School sophomore, leading to the teen’s death, was sentenced Jan. 24 to 13 years in prison. Kaylar Junior Tawan Beltranlap, 22, pleaded guilty last year to a federal distribution of fentanyl count for selling a counterfeit oxycodone pill that led…


Teen Actor Tyler Sanders Died From Accidental Fentanyl Overdose

GLENDALE, Calif.—The Coroner’s Office Dec. 29 ruled that teen actor Tyler Sanders, star of Amazon’s “Just Add Magic: Mystery City,” died from an accidental fentanyl overdose. A friend found Sanders, 18, unresponsive inside his locked apartment in Glendale on June 16 and called 911, according to the coroner’s report, adding the teen had a history…


15-Year-Old’s Family Sues LA Unified Over Drug Death at School

LOS ANGELES—The mother of a 15-year-old girl who died of an overdose in a bathroom at Bernstein High School in Hollywood announced a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Dec. 14, alleging school officials knew there was a problem with drug use at the campus but took no action. LAUSD knew that…


2 Poway Men Sentenced to Prison for Firefighter’s Fatal Fentanyl Overdose

SAN DIEGO—Two Poway residents were sentenced to federal prison terms Dec. 2 for supplying the fentanyl that led to a local firefighter’s fatal overdose. Justin Gale Mata, 41, and Everett Justin Curtis, 48, pleaded guilty to providing the drugs that killed Brian M. Parrish, a firefighter with Cal Fire in San Diego County. Mata received…


Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Soar in LA County Over 5-Year Period

LOS ANGELES—Overdose deaths attributed to the synthetic opioid fentanyl skyrocketed in Los Angeles County over a five-year period ending in 2021, with such fatalities increasing by 1,280 percent, according to report released Nov. 29 by the county Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, the LA County District Attorney’s Office and the health department, in a joint…


Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Soar 1,280 Percent in LA County Over 5-year Period

LOS ANGELES—Overdose deaths attributed to the synthetic opioid fentanyl skyrocketed in Los Angeles County over a five-year period ending in 2021, with such fatalities increasing by 1,280 percent, according to report released Nov. 29 by the county Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, the LA County District Attorney’s Office and the health department, in a joint…


Officials Warn of Major Spike in Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths in LA County

LOS ANGELES—While the COVID-19 pandemic causing bars, clubs, and other late-night meeting places to close, online sales of counterfeit pills containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl exploded, killing more than 1,600 people in Los Angeles County last year, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official said Nov. 21. Fentanyl poisoning is killing the region’s residents, particularly young…


El Camino Real High Baseball Player Dies of Fentanyl Overdose

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.—A high school baseball player from Woodland Hills has died from a fentanyl overdose, and his classmates are mourning his death Oct. 7. Cade Kitchen, a 17-year-old student at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, died of fentanyl poisoning last week and the school sent a letter to the community Oct….


San Diego Man Arrested in Connection With Two 2018 Fentanyl-Related Deaths

SAN DIEGO—A San Diego man suspected of supplying two Riverside County residents with lethal doses of fentanyl was arrested this week on suspicion of murder. Christopher Michael Koppa, 36, was arrested Aug. 8 and booked into a Riverside County jail in connection with the 2018 deaths of two men who died a few weeks apart,…


Three Men Arrested in Nashville Undercover Drug Operation

Nashville police recently arrested three individuals in connection with narcotics activities, seizing illegal substances in the process. “An undercover narcotics operation Fri night targeting fentanyl-related street sales downtown led to the arrests of Khalil D. Smith, Nesean Thompson & Michael Terry on felony drug charges. Cocaine laced with fentanyl, a gun & cash were seized….