Jeremiah David Carlton, 21, of Canyon Lake is accused in the death of the teenager, identified in court documents only as “J.G.”

Carlton is charged with second-degree murder, transportation of controlled substances for sale and possession of controlled substances for sale.

During a pretrial hearing Tuesday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding a specific date for the next stage of proceedings, and both sides indicated they would be prepared to move forward at the end of next month.

Carlton is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center.

His co-defendant, 21-year-old Raymond Gene Tyrrell of French Valley, who was charged separately, pleaded guilty in July to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in state prison. However, due to the amount of time he’d already spent in jail awaiting disposition of the case, along with other sentencing credits, Judge Stephen Gallon converted his prison term to what’s known as a “paper commitment,” enabling Tyrrell to instantly go on parole.

Sgt. Rick Espinoza of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department alleged that Carlton and Tyrrell provided the drugs that led to the death of J.G. on the night of Feb. 24, 2021, at a residence in the 35000 block of Sugar Maple Street, near Leon Road.

Espinoza said deputies were called to the location to investigate two possible fentanyl poisonings and discovered the girl and a man, whose identity was not released, comatose. Both were taken to a regional trauma center, where the man was revived but the girl succumbed to the toxic ingestion.

“Detectives conducted an investigation and developed information that this was possibly a homicide,” the sergeant said, declining to elaborate on the circumstances.

Tyrrell was summoned to the sheriff’s Southwest station in Murrieta a day later and interviewed by detectives, after which he was taken into custody. Carlton was served with an arrest warrant and taken into custody at his residence.

Neither defendant had documented prior felony convictions.

Since February 2021, the District Attorney’s Office has charged over 30 people countywide in connection with fentanyl poisonings.

In November, prosecutors closed the books on the county’s first fentanyl murder case to go before a jury, culminating in the conviction of 34- year-old Vicente David Romero, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the 2020 death of a Temecula woman. District Attorney Mike Hestrin said it was the first fentanyl murder conviction in the state.

According to public health statistics, there were 550 known fentanyl- related fatalities countywide in 2023, a 9% increase from 2022, when there were 503.

Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the synthetic opioid is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels.

Fentanyl is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45 years old.

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MURRIETA, CA — A convicted felon accused of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with an underage girl — who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer involved in an online predator sting — was charged Thursday with multiple misdemeanor and felony offenses.

Laith Fathi Sikta, 44, of Sacramento was arrested Saturday following a monthlong law enforcement operation that included Riverside County sheriff’s deputies from the Southwest Station in French Valley.

Sikta is charged with two counts each of distributing harmful material to a minor and identity theft, as well as one count each of contacting a minor with intent to perpetrate a sexual offense, arranging a meeting with a minor for illicit purposes, possession of child pornography, attempting to furnish marijuana to a child under 14 years old and possession of controlled substances.

Sikta, who is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Byrd Detention Center, was slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Narciso, the investigation into Sikta’s online activity began toward the end of July when the internet predator sting was initiated.

“Sikta communicated his intent to have sex and arranged to meet for sex someone whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but was actually an online undercover officer,” Narciso said.

He alleged that on Friday, the defendant drove from his Sacramento residence to Murrieta “with the plan to pick up the minor in the middle of the night.”

He was instead confronted by deputies, who took him into custody without incident on Winchester Road.

“Cannabis was located in Sikta’s vehicle,” the sheriff’s spokesman said.

According to court records, the defendant has a prior conviction for robbery.

The post Man Charged With Trying To Arrange Sex With ‘Girl’ In Murrieta appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

File # MV223420348

Details:

On December 8, 2022, at 4:52 PM, deputies from the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Team – Gang Unit were conducting proactive patrol in the area of Red Hill Road and Sultan Street. During this patrol, they recognized Dennis Carbajal, a member of a criminal street gang, who is currently on CDC Parole, standing near a vehicle. Deputies attempted to contact Carbajal, who fled on foot. After a short foot pursuit, Carbajal was taken into custody. During the foot pursuit, Carbajal discarded several items, which were later recovered. Those items included 40 grams of methamphetamine, nine M30 Fentanyl pills and 8 grams of cocaine. The controlled substances were packaged in a manner to suggest possession for sales. Also located was one live round of 22 caliber ammunition, $1,100 in counterfeit U.S currency, and items associated with identity theft. At the conclusion of this investigation, Carbajal was booked into custody at Robert Presley Detention Center.

The Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station Special Enforcement Team/Gang Unit is committed to creating safe and secure neighborhoods free of violent crime and gang activity. If you have any information related to gang or illegal activity in your neighborhood, you can contact Sgt. Varela of the Moreno Valley Station at 951-486-6700.

This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information related to this case in encouraged to contact Deputy Mahoney of the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station at 951-486-6700.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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