Deputies from the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to a call on January 8, 2025, regarding an unresponsive adult female in Eastvale. Upon arrival at the 14200 block of Grayling Drive, they found 19-year-old Kailey Pearson and attempted life-saving measures. Pearson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit (ODIN) took over the case. The Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau determined that Pearson died due to fentanyl and xylazine poisoning. ODIN investigators identified Angelina Judena Ortega, age 25 and a resident of Eastvale, as the person suspected of distributing the drugs.
On September 5, 2025, ODIN personnel arrested Ortega at the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station. She was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on charges related to Pearson’s death. On September 8, formal murder charges were filed against Ortega by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. The investigation is ongoing.
“Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Investigator Grier at 951–955–1790.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning about illicit narcotics: “Many street drugs may contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid approximately 100 times more potent than morphine, which can cause fatal overdoses even in minute quantities.”
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