Riverside County jury convicts man of murder in fentanyl-related case, a first of its kind verdict in California

A Temecula man was convicted this week of second-degree murder for knowingly supplying fentanyl to a 26-year-old woman who died from the drug, the first jury verdict for a fentanyl-related homicide in California, Riverside County prosecutors said. “The fact that it was a jury verdict is significant — this represents the voice of the community … saying this is murder when someone knowingly sells something that they know to be deadly to someone else and they die as a result.” In Romero’s five-day trial, prosecutors brought forth video footage of Romero saying he gave and split a pill with King, knowing it contained fentanyl, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office. “What it’s likely to do is make people less willing to intervene appropriately when something does happen.” But Gire said he was disappointed that legislation that called for more punitive action in cases involving fentanyl-related deaths was stalled in Sacramento this year, arguing that the current crisis is unprecedented and incomparable to the wave of harsh drug sentences in the late 20th century. It’s as simple as taking one pill, and that requires a different approach.” Of the roughly 150 fentanyl-related deaths investigated in Placer County, Gire said his office has filed three murder charges, choosing to do so “sparingly” when a case can be made that the defendant knowingly supplied the potentially lethal opioid. Meanwhile, Romero’s defense attorney, Michael Duncan, remains adamant that the Riverside County jury’s ruling was “contrary to existing law.” Duncan said the criminal jury instructions were “too broad” for the case and a “serious miscarriage of justice that will be rectified by the Court of Appeals.” “Furnishing fentanyl is dangerous to human life, so is failure to signal a lane change, so is exceeding the speed limit by five miles an hour,” he said.