A Fremont mother pleaded guilty this week to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her youngest toddler, who fatally overdosed on the powerful narcotic fentanyl just two weeks shy of his second birthday. Sophia Gastelum-Vera, 27, formally agreed to the plea deal Wednesday after prosecutors voiced plans to drop a slew of lesser charges in … Read more
SAN JOSE — The former executive director of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association has signaled her intent to admit guilt in a scandal in which she is accused of illegally trafficking opioids by using the union’s headquarters and computers to carry out the scheme under the noses of her law enforcement constituents. Joanne Segovia, … Read more
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that 5.8 million fentanyl-laced pills were confiscated throughout California by the state’s Counterdrug Task Force in collaboration with local and federal law enforcement agencies. As the state government celebrates consistently increasing confiscations of the synthetic opioid, though, experts say that the seizures will not affect the illicit drug market … Read more
Brian Nestande, a former state assemblyman and county administrator found dead in his Palm Desert home on March 6, died of a drug overdose, the Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau has determined. An autopsy report obtained Wednesday, May 29, by the Southern California News Group revealed Nestande, 60, died of cardiac arrhythmia caused by “multiple substance … Read more
Ronnie Cohen | KFF Health News (TNS) Raymond Llano carries a plastic bag with everything he owns in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and the flattened cardboard box he uses as a bed under his arm as he waits in line for lunch at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. At … Read more
A woman was charged after U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly found more than 90 pounds of fentanyl pills in her car along the 10 freeway in Indio, federal prosecutors announced in a statement released Thursday, May 16. On Tuesday, May 14, Adriana Galindo, 34, of Mexico, was driving a 2015 black Chevrolet Malibu along the … Read more
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final counts are in. It would be only the … Read more
In an effort to reverse an alarming trend of fentanyl overdose deaths among infants and toddlers, state Sen. Dave Cortese has introduced legislation intended to provide counties with better tools to protect the Golden State’s youngest opioid victims. The San Jose Democrat said his legislation was inspired by ongoing reporting by the Bay Area News … Read more
In what prosecutors call a highly unusual development in a high-profile murder case, a San Jose mom is expected to be released from jail this week without posting bail as she waits for her trial in the fentanyl overdose death of her 18-month-old daughter, Winter Rayo. The conditions of Kelly Richardson’s release, including whether she … Read more
The sober living home where Christopher Lee Kearns allegedly tried to kill his 8-year-old son with a screwdriver bills itself as a calm, quiet, “working man’s” place. Rent is $175 a week or $700 a month. Folks must have a job or be looking for one. They must attend mandatory house meetings and are encouraged … Read more