Temecula Valley USD Hosting Discussion On Dangers Of Fentanyl

TEMECULA, CA — The Riverside County Sheriff's Department and other local law enforcement agencies have been warning for months that fentanyl is killing an alarming number of county residents — many of them very young.

On Thursday, a Temecula dad will share his tragic firsthand experience of what it's like to lose a child to the drug and what he believes can be done to combat the rising death toll.

Matt Capelouto, founding member of VOID and president of DrugInducedHomocide.org will join Homeland Security Special Agent Ed Byrne and Temecula Valley Unified School District Director of Safety and Security Jason Vickery to present "Dead on Arrival — The Ever Increasing Danger of Fentanyl in our Community."

The presentation will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Temecula Valley High School's Golden Bear Theater, 31555 Rancho Vista Road, as part of TVUSD's "Family University" series.

Capelouto and his wife, Christine, lost their 20-year-old daughter Alexandra to fentanyl on Dec. 23, 2019. Alexandra was not a drug addict. She was a college student who was home for the holidays at the time of her death. She took one pill that she thought was oxycodone. It killed her, Matt Capelouto said.

The Capeloutos are working with other grieving parents who have lost kids to fentanyl and they have been campaigning hard to see that fentanyl deaths are treated as homicides rather than accidental overdoses.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office are onboard. Earlier this year, the two agencies held a joint news conference to announce they would bring murder charges in cases where they could prove a victim unknowingly took fentanyl. Several cases are now moving forward.

Fentanyl is often used in counterfeit pills that are marketed to victims as something else, like the fake oxycodone that Alexandra took.

According to a TVUSD post about Thursday's event, "Fentanyl is the number one killer of youth and young adults in the United States. Matt is focused on bringing awareness of the fentanyl epidemic to the forefront of the American public in [an] effort to prevent this from happening to other families. It is our pleasure to welcome Mr. Capelouto back to TVUSD to share his personal experience and expertise."

During Thursday's presentation, moderators will be on hand. The event will be held in person and will also be live-streamed for anyone who is unable to attend. Registration is required for the event, whether you plan to attend in person or via live stream. Get more information here.