Man Arrested For Fentanyl Death That Killed South OC Girl: OCSD

LAKE FOREST, CA — A man indicted in a fentanyl overdose death two years ago was arrested Tuesday and is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court.

Tyler David Wilkinson was named in a four-count federal grand jury indictment in April 2022 that alleges he sold counterfeit oxycodone pills to a 17-year-old victim who died in Lake Forest of a fentanyl overdose.

The victim purchased the pills in June 2021 after responding to an advertisement prosecutors say Wilkinson posted on Snapchat. Six months before the transaction that led to the teen's death, Wilkinson allegedly possessed distribution quantities of several types of narcotics, including nearly 1,400 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.

Wilkinson allegedly continued to sell fentanyl-laced pills, even after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence.

City News Service contributed to this report.