Lake Elsinore Man Charged With Murder In Fentanyl Death

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A Lake Elsinore resident accused of supplying a lethal dose of fentanyl to a 34-year-old man was charged with murder Friday, court records show.

James Dylan Hall, 36, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Wildomar's 21600 block of Grand Avenue and is being held on $1 million bail at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, according to jail records.

He is scheduled for arraignment Dec. 15 on a single murder count, court records show.

Hall is accused of supplying the fatal fentanyl dose to Jacob Soto, who was found dead around 8:30 p.m. Sept. 5 after deputies were called about an unresponsive man in Lake Elsinore's 33100 block of Windward Way.

It's not clear who called for help.

"Over the next several months, the investigation was relentlessly worked and a suspect, James Dylan Hall, ..., was identified as being the suspect responsible for selling the fentanyl that killed Soto," according to the sheriff's department.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced early last year they are pursuing murder charges against fentanyl suppliers whose products kill. Dozens of cases have been filed countywide.

Hall was also scheduled for arraignment Friday afternoon on more than a dozen misdemeanor charges unrelated to the fatal fentanyl case.