Jurupa Valley man accused of fentanyl poisoning; arrested on suspicion of murder

LAKE MATHEWS, Calif. (CNS) -- A 28-year-old man from Jurupa Valley was arrested on suspicion of an April murder, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced Saturday.

At 8:11 a.m. on April 7, sheriff's deputies from the Lake Mathews Station responded to the 22200 block of Piedras Road to a report of an unresponsive man, later identified as 29-year-old Gorge Sandoval. Deputies performed lifesaving measures, but Sandoval was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau later determined he died as a result of fentanyl poisoning.

Investigators identified the suspect responsible for selling the fentanyl that killed Sandoval as 28-year-old John Sandoval of Jurupa Valley. It was not immediately clear if the two were related.

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On June 2, personnel from the Riverside Police Department served an unrelated narcotics search warrant at the suspect's residence, in the 8400 block of Saddle Creek Drive, and seized two kilograms of suspected fentanyl, according to the sheriff's department.

He was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale. He was convicted and released on probation on June 20, according to Sergeant Sean Liebrand.

On Thursday, personnel from the Riverside County Sheriff's Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit took Sandoval into custody at the Jurupa Valley Sheriff's station, and he was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of the murder of Gorge Sandoval.

Anyone with additional information was encouraged to contact investigator Garcia-Flores at 951-955-1700.

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