Mother Pleads Not Guilty To Trying To Sneak Fentanyl Into Sylmar Juvenile Hall

SAN FERNANDO, CA — A mother accused of trying to sneak fentanyl into a Sylmar juvenile hall where her child was being held in 2023 is due back in court Aug. 22 when a date will be set for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case against her to proceed to trial.

Jeny Morenoparra, 41, pleaded not guilty Friday to one count each of bringing an illegal substance into a jail facility, employment of a minor to sell or carry a narcotic and possession for sale of a controlled substance.

Morenoparra is the mother of a youth who was housed at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, according to a statement released by the county Probation Department.

"The defendant, a mother of one of the facility's residents, is accused of attempting to introduce fentanyl, an incredibly dangerous drug, endangering the very child she came to visit as well as potentially many of the other juveniles in the facility," District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement Thursday.
Morenoparra was initially contacted by a supervising deputy probation officer in 2023 and found to be in possession of more than 30 pills that tested positive for fentanyl, authorities said.

Hochman said the woman was initially arrested in 2023 and released soon afterward without any charges being filed until he had the case reviewed in May.
"Fentanyl is too dangerous a threat -- 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine -- to not treat its lethality with the seriousness and immediacy it requires," Hochman added.

"Introducing drugs into a secure facility endangers public safety and lives, and undermines rehabilitation," Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in the statement Thursday.

Morenoparra was taken into custody without incident July 11 by the Los Angeles County Probation Department's Special Enforcement Operations Team, according to the District Attorney's Office.

She was released on bond two days later, jail records show.

A date is scheduled to be set Aug. 22 for a hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case against Morenoparra to proceed to trial.