Riverside County Pushes State Lawmakers On Fentanyl Crisis

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — After failed attempts at making it easier to prosecute drug dealers who sell fentanyl to people who die from the drug, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and a Temecula family are doubling down on efforts to get state legislation passed that could put such peddlers in prison for up to life.

Tuesday, D.A. Mike Hestrin held a news conference in Riverside that, in part, pushed for passage of state Senate Bill 44, dubbed "Alexandra's Law." The proposed legislation is named after 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto, who died in December 2019 of fentanyl poisoning while home in Temecula from college.

If passed, the legislation introduced in December by state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) would require that a person who is convicted of selling fentanyl or other deadly narcotics receive a written advisory warning of the dangers of controlled substances. The advisory would also state that, in the future, if a victim dies as a result of a dealer's products, the peddler can be charged with murder.

The advisory would be on record and used as evidence in subsequent cases against repeat offenders.

A similar advisory is currently issued to convicted drunken drivers in California. Known as the Watson advisory, repeat offenders who kill while driving under the influence can be charged with murder in and face up to life in prison if convicted.

"[SB 44] should be a no-brainer, you would think," Hestrin said. "If we're just simply asking that those who are already convicted of a fentanyl-related offense signify ... that they've been warned about the dangers of future behavior — it does seem like an obvious law that should be in place."

To date, Hestrin's office is prosecuting 20 separate murder cases involving fentanyl deaths.

"We're the first to take this approach," Hestrin said, noting that the number of cases is the highest in the state.

The D.A.'s office is going after murder convictions without SB-44 in place, which makes successful prosecution more difficult, according to Hestrin, who vowed, "we won't quit."

A bill similar to SB-44 was introduced by a GOP member of the state Legislature, but it failed to gain traction. Then-Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) introduced and then re-introduced SB-350, also dubbed "Alexandra's Law," but the proposal died in committee twice last year. It too would have mandated that, under state law, anyone convicted of dealing fentanyl or other potentially deadly drugs be issued a written advisory warning that a future poisoning death resulting from providing such drugs could result in a murder charge.

Riverside County officials now refer to fentanyl deaths as "poisonings" instead of "overdoses" because very often the victim believes they are consuming something other than fentanyl. Drug dealers are increasingly selling fake wares to unsuspecting buyers, according to Hestrin.

Temecula parents Matt and Christine Capelouto are painfully aware of the counterfeit market. Senate Bills 44 and 350 are named after their daughter, Alexandra. They joined Hestrin Tuesday. According to the Capeloutos and investigators, Alexandra went on Snapchat during that fateful Christmas break more than three years ago to purchase oxycodone. Instead, she was fraudulently sold counterfeit pills containing fentanyl.

The deception cost Alexandra her life, Matt said.

"My daughter didn't want to die," he said during a January 2022 news briefing. "She took one pill, and it was not a wise choice. Everybody in the supply chain needs to be held accountable. The drug dealers, the cartels in Mexico, right back to China. This war is not fought with bullets. They're poisoning us from within."

Law enforcement cites China as a primary source of fentanyl, and Mexico as the distribution hub for the illicit narcotic.

Brandon Michael McDowell, 24, pleaded guilty in August to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl for causing Alexandra's death and he was sentenced Monday to 9 years in federal prison.

"While I don't feel in my heart that complete and total justice has been done ..., I will say some justice has been done," Matt said during Tuesday's news conference. "We have made significant progress in this fight."

DEA Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner was also on hand for Tuesday's news conference.

"DEA will continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to ensure those lost to fentanyl have a voice," Bodner said

Final figures for 2022 will likely show more than 500 fentanyl deaths in Riverside County, Hestrin said. That compares to 111 in 2019. The uptick marks a 327% increase.

Alexandra Capelouto is part of the grim statistic.

Her father said, "We are a family who lost a daughter and that is a sorrow we will endure for the rest of our lives. ... This bill [SB-44] will save lives."