Crime & Safety
1 Million Doses Of Deadly Fentanyl Seized In Murrieta
The suspects were located on Murrieta Hot Springs Road, near Interstate 215, where they were stopped and searched.
MURRIETA, CA — A man and woman were allegedly caught transporting more than four pounds of fentanyl in Murrieta, authorities announced Wednesday.
Cristobal Chavez, 45, and Yesica Hernandez, 39, both of Los Angeles, were arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of transportation of narcotics for sale. They were booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where Hernandez was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail. Custody information on Chavez was not immediately available.
According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, members of the county's Gang Impact Team, which includes D.A.'s office investigators, were tipped that Chavez and Hernandez were allegedly bringing a quantity of fentanyl into the county, prompting the team to track the pair down.
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The suspects were located on Murrieta Hot Springs Road, near Interstate 215, where they were stopped and searched. Roughly 4 1/2 pounds of powdered fentanyl was seized during the search, according to the D.A.'s office.
"It only takes about two milligrams of fentanyl to potentially be lethal for most people," according to an agency statement. "For perspective of how small that amount is, it takes 5,000 milligrams to make one teaspoon."
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The amount seized Tuesday is the equivalent of amount 1 million doses.
The county, like other parts of the state and country, has been inundated with the synthetic opioid, which authorities say is manufactured in China and smuggled across the border with Mexico. Between 2018 and 2020, the number of lethal fentanyl overdoses increased 300 percent countywide, according to Sheriff Chad Bianco.
The D.A.'s office said the shipment seized in Murrieta has a street value of $200,000.
Specifics on how the investigation developed and culminated in the seizure were not disclosed.
In the last two weeks, four county residents have been charged with second-degree murder in connection with deaths from fentanyl toxicity.
On Wednesday, a San Jacinto man accused of supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 23-year-old acquaintance made his initial court appearance Wednesday.
Samuel Leo Mussaw, also 23, was arrested Friday and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, where he's being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Mussaw is charged with second-degree murder and possession of controlled substances for sale.
He appeared before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst, who appointed him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Thursday at the Banning Justice Center.
According to Sgt. Rick Espinoza of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, deputies and paramedics were called to the 900 block of Cypress Drive, near Malaga Drive, at about noon last Thursday to investigate a possible drug overdose.
Espinoza said Adam Young of San Jacinto was found unconscious and unresponsive in the house, prompting first responders to attempt to revive him, unsuccessfully.
Further investigation revealed that Young had consumed pills containing fentanyl, and detectives were able to track down the alleged source — Mussaw — according to the sergeant.
The defendant and victim knew one another, but no other details were available.
Espinoza said a search warrant was procured and served at Mussaw's residence in the 100 block of North Dillon Road, where three firearms, a stash of cash "and approximately 2,000 M-30 pills of fentanyl" were seized.
He was taken into custody without a struggle.
His was the fourth arrest in two weeks for alleged fentanyl sales that led to death.
The other three individuals — Raymond Gene Tyrrell of French Valley, Jeremiah David Carlton of Canyon Lake, and Joseph Michael Costanza of Eastvale — have already been charged with second-degree murder in their respective cases and made court appearances.
Last month, Sheriff Chad Bianco and District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced a strategy to aggressively investigate and potentially file charges connected to all deaths stemming from fentanyl toxicity.
According to Hestrin, although these can be difficult to prosecute under current state law, the DA's Office will not hesitate to seek justice whenever the evidence of culpability is clear.
"All drugs and counterfeit pills are themselves deadly because they are often mixed with fentanyl, or a derivative of fentanyl," Espinoza said. "These substances alone or mixed together can kill in very small doses."
