Fentanyl Homicide Cases Move Forward In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Three first-of-their-kind second-degree murder cases involving fentanyl deaths are working their way through the Riverside County court system, and four accused young men remain behind bars.

The latest court appearance was Thursday — a 23-year-old San Jacinto man accused of supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl to an acquaintance.

Samuel Leo Mussaw pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the March 4 death of Adam Young, 23, of San Jacinto. Along with murder, Mussaw is charged with possession of controlled substances for sale.

He was arraigned before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Timothy Hollenhorst, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for June 23 at the Banning Justice Center and left the defendant's bail at $1 million. Mussaw is being held at the Smith Correctional Facility.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Rick Espinoza, deputies and paramedics were called to the 900 block of Cypress Drive, near Malaga Drive, about noon to investigate a possible drug overdose. Espinoza said Young was found unconscious and unresponsive in the house, and first responders tried but failed to revive him.

Further investigation revealed that Young had consumed pills containing fentanyl, and detectives were able to track down the alleged source — Mussaw, according to the sergeant. The defendant and victim knew one another, but no other details were released.

Espinoza said a search warrant was served at Mussaw's residence in the 100 block of North Dillon Road, where three firearms, a stash of cash "and approximately 2,000 M-30 pills of fentanyl" were seized. Mussaw was taken into custody on March 5 without a struggle.

He is among four young men in three separate fentanyl homicide cases to be arrested over a three-week period. The other three men include Raymond Gene Tyrrell, 18, of French Valley, Jeremiah David Carlton, 18, of Canyon Lake, and Joseph Michael Costanza, 21, of Eastvale.

Costanza was the first person to be charged with fentanyl-related homicide in Riverside County. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder for the Oct. 4 fentanyl death of 18-year-old Eastvale resident Angel Vazquez who purchased the narcotic from Costanza, according to the district attorney's office. Costanza remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, and is due in court for a preliminary hearing in July.

In a separate case,Tyrrell and Carlton have been each charged with second-degree murder for the Feb. 24 fentanyl-related death of a 16-year-old French Valley girl. They are due to be arraigned April 30 and remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail each.

At the time of Costanza's arrest, Sheriff Chad Bianco and District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced a strategy to aggressively investigate and potentially file charges connected to all deaths stemming from fentanyl toxicity.

According to Hestrin, although fentanyl murder cases can be difficult to prosecute under current state law, the DA's Office will not hesitate to seek justice whenever the evidence of culpability is clear.

Bianco cited statistics indicating fentanyl-induced fatalities shot up 300 percent countywide between 2018 and 2020.

In most cases, buyers are unaware the pill they've purchased from a narcotics trafficker contains fentanyl — they believe they are taking oxycodone, Percocet or some other drug, according to Bianco, who noted that fentanyl is also being cut with other illegal substances, like methamphetamine.

It only takes about 2 milligrams of fentanyl to kill a human, and the drug is very inexpensive to manufacture. China is the main fentanyl supplier, and the narcotic is making its way to the U.S. by way of Mexico, Bianco said.

"The chances of you taking fentanyl are extremely high," the sheriff warned black-market drug buyers.

—City News Service contributed to this report.