Man Pleads Not Guilty to Second-Degree Murder in Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Case
A West Sacramento man has pleaded not guilty to allegedly selling counterfeit pills containing a lethal amount of fentanyl, which authorities say resulted in a fatal overdose in El Dorado County.
According to a press release posted to Facebook, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in May of 2022 into the overdose death of a juvenile who had ingested a counterfeit pill believing it to be authentic. The pill contained a lethal amount of fentanyl, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives soon identified a suspect living in West Sacramento as having supplied the pills, and reportedly arrested him the day after the woman’s death. Investigators searched the suspect’s home and recovered over five thousand suspected counterfeit pills, cocaine, and an illegal short-barrel rifle.
Court records indicate the suspect was later released on $500,000 bail.
In the meantime, authorities secured an arrest warrant for the suspect, who was ultimately arrested on January 23, 2023, on suspicion of second-degree murder and distribution of a controlled substance to minors.
According to the Mountain Democrat, the suspect — identified as 22-year-old Kamaal Yusuf — entered a plea of not guilty in El Dorado Superior Court this past Wednesday, January 25.
