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Supervising Deputy District Attorney Doug Poston and District Attorney Public Information Officer Jacqueline Rodriguez were the guests on the Z107.7 Up Close Show with Gary Daigneault on Friday (March 31).
The conversation very quickly turned to the influx of fentanyl and fentanyl laced drugs that are leading to record numbers of overdose deaths. When asked why fentanyl was so prevalent right now, Rodriguez said
“Fentanyl itself is cheap to produce, easty to manufacture, and it’s something that can be pressed into every single pill.”
Daigneault asked about the District Attorney’s efforts to prosecute drug dealers responsible for fentanyl overdoses with more serious charges, including murder. Rodriguez explained that the new effort takes its tone from the Watson Advisement, which is when someone convicted of driving under the influence are informed that, if they continue this behavior in a manner that costs someone their life, they could be charged with murder. The DA’s office is using a similar procedure for those convicted of dealing drugs.
Alicia Hegarty was recently arrested and extradited from Arizona on suspicion of murder charges in San Bernardino County for allegedly selling fentanyl to a young marine who overdosed in Yucca Valley. Though Poston did not comment on the specifics of that case, he said, regarding the general method of prosecution that,
“We believe that sufficient evidence exists for us to proceed on that theory of murder. That the subject person knew, much like the DUI driver, that they were told, they were warned, they have subjective knowledge from any number of sources that their conduct is inherently dangerous, and proceeded anyway.
You can listen to Gary Daigneault’s full interview with the representatives from the County DA’s office below, or by downloading the show as a podcast from your favorite podcasting app.
