RivCo Lawmaker Pushes For California 'Drug-Induced Homicide' Law

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A lawmaker who represents a district that stretches from Southwest Riverside County to the Coachella Valley wants to see a murder charge filed when someone dies of poisoning and/or overdose from fentanyl, peyote, or other opiates or narcotics.

Anyone who has a prior conviction for selling, transporting, administering, furnishing, manufacturing or compounding these often-lethal drugs, and then goes out and commits more narcotics-related crimes, should face a murder charge if someone dies as a result of their illegal activities, argues state Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore).

On Tuesday, she introduced state Senate Bill 350. Coauthored by three Republicans, "Alexandra's Law" addresses "implied malice" for drug fatalities in a similar fashion to implied malice for injuries and fatalities in drunken and/or drugged driving cases, Melendez explained.

The bill would require that a person convicted of selling, manufacturing, transporting, etc., a dangerous narcotic receive a written advisory of the danger of manufacturing and distribution of controlled substances. The bill would require that the fact the advisory was given be on the record and recorded on the abstract of conviction. The paper trail could make it easier for a narcotics-induced murder charge to stick on a repeat drug offender whose product leads to death.

The bill is named in memory of 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto, a 2017 Great Oak High School graduate who died Dec. 23, 2019 from fentanyl poisoning after she took a pill marketed to her as oxycodone by a drug dealer, said Matt Capelouto, who is Alexandra's father.

Alexandra was not a drug addict. She was a college student. She took one pill that she thought was oxycodone, Matt said. That pill wasn't what she thought was — and it killed her.

Since their daughter's death, Matt and his wife have been raising awareness about fatal poisoning from synthetic fentanyl and about the drug dealers who knowingly defraud their buyers. The Temecula parents are working at the legislative level and with local enforcement. According to Matt, there is bipartisan support for Alexandra's Law.

“As a mother of five children, I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child to drug poisoning," Melendez said. “It’s past time to hold drug dealers accountable before more parents are forced to bury their children. Law enforcement needs the tools to go after drug dealers who prey on kids. Alexandra’s Law provides a valuable first step in getting this fentanyl epidemic under control and most importantly — saving lives.”

There were 1,603 fentanyl-related deaths statewide in 2019, according to California Department of Public Health data. In December, Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors that unintentional overdose deaths were on the rise countywide among young people during 2020.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department and other local law enforcement agencies have continued to warn about a troubling and dangerous black-market trend of counterfeit pills sold as Percocet or oxycodone and laced with synthetic fentanyl. Known as M-30s, the pills have no particular taste or smell, so users often have no idea what they're taking. Synthetic fentanyl is inexpensive to manufacture, and it only takes about 2 milligrams to kill a person, according to law enforcement.

Despite the disturbing trends, California does not have drug-induced homicide laws and not everyone is in favor of filing murder charges in cases where a supplier can be pinpointed.

The nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for treating drug addiction as a medical issue rather than criminal, argues that when drug homicide laws are in place, people who witness overdose or poisoning can be reluctant to call 911 if they are in any way involved with administering or furnishing a narcotic. Many people believe drug-induced homicide laws target major drug traffickers, but they are actually resulting in friends, family members and romantic partners of overdose victims being charged for their death, the DPA argues.

"People positioned to save lives are unlikely to call 911 if they fear being charged with murder or manslaughter," according to DPA literature.

It's unclear how much support Melendez's bill might receive in Sacramento.

Melendez represents the 28th Senate District which includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Wildomar.