On a recent episode of the Z107.7 Up Close Show, host Gary Daigneault spoke with Supervising Deputy District Attorney for the Desert Division Morongo Basin Office Douglas Poston.
Daigneault cited the District Attorney’s precedent of requiring those with a drug charge who are eligible for probation to sign a document saying that they understand that if they sell fentanyl to someone who dies from the drug, they can be charged with murder.
D.A. Poston replied “We actually put that language in our criminal charging documents that we file when we want to initiate a criminal case. That language essentially warns those persons that narcotics are dangerous and can cause death, especially one like fentanyl. Proposition 36 did make it also a law that the courts must admonish persons that are in possession of hard drugs for sale.”
D.A. Poston: “What I’ve seen is the courts are really very much on board with this, and they’re admonishing pretty much everybody that gets charged with possession of narcotics, that it is extremely dangerous to human life and deadly. If you furnish those kinds of narcotics to persons and they die – whether you sell it… give it away… whatever. The District Attorney’s Office (can) charge you with murder.”
Daigneault said, “The District Attorney is compiling a list of people with a proclivity to sell drugs who have been served notice, that if they sell fentanyl to someone who dies, they’re going to be charged with murder and you are charging people. There’s prosecutions going on even as we speak.”
D.A. Poston said, “The new Health and Safety Code section actually requires the court to give that warning to the drug dealer for possession, for sale of any what’s called a hard drug, which is typically fentanyl-containing substance, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, fencycline, PCP. So they are warning them up front and we do keep track of that.”
“That’s actually part of the court record and that person’s criminal record. So if we charge you with sales… you’re warned. You go out and sell again, or give it away (and) somebody dies, we can charge you with murder.”
Gary asked if it is making a dent in the problem.
D.A. Poston: “You know, I wish I could say that the problem has one single solution, and I don’t know that it does. I don’t know that we can prosecute or incarcerate our way out of this. I don’t know that we can treat our way out of this. I think it’s a combination of many factors that go into that. Do I think it makes a dent? Well, I’m hoping it does.”
You can listen to the full interview below, and be sure to subscribe to all of Z107.7’s Podcasts, produced right here in the hi-desert.
