Riverside County Sheriff's Department reports that a Cathedral City man was charged with murder Wednesday for dealing fentanyl that led to the death of a 22-year-old man in January.
When arrested on Wednesday, the suspect, Riley Hagar, 25, of Cathedral City, had narcotics in his possession, the Sheriff's Department said. He has been booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for murder.
According to a press release by Sgt. Ryan Marcuse from the Sheriff's Department, 22-year-old Travis O'Brien of Rancho Mirage was determined to be deceased after deputies responded to a call about his condition on Jan. 1 at 12:28 p.m. He was found unresponsive on the 69000 block of State Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage.
As soon as it was evident that O'Brien was the victim of fentanyl poisoning, an investigation was immediately assumed by the Sheriff's Department Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit, Marcuse said.
"The investigation continued and a suspect, Hagar was identified as being the suspect responsible for selling the fentanyl that killed O’Brien," he said.
On Wednesday, ODIN personnel located Hagar in Rancho Mirage and took him into custody. He happened to be out on bail on an unrelated charge.
Marcuse reports that the investigation is still ongoing and encourages anyone with additional information to contact Investigator Hollingsworth at 951-955-1700.