San Jose man arrested on suspicion of homicide in April fentanyl overdose death
CUPERTINO – In what authorities are calling a landmark case, a 28-year-old San Jose man has been arrested on suspicion of homicide for selling a lethal amount of fentanyl to a 61-year-old Cupertino man.
A months-long investigation led to the identification of Manuel Anthony Rodriguez, a suspected fentanyl dealer, as the primary suspect in the April overdose death of Jeffrey Diaz, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Detectives presented the case to prosecutors for consideration of formal charges and then obtained a warrant for Rodriguez’s arrest on homicide and several drug-trafficking charges, the sheriff’s office said. Rodriguez was taken into custody about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office said it is withholding additional details about the case due to the ongoing investigation.
“This is a landmark case in an effort to hold perpetrators accountable for their intentional criminal actions that have known, deadly consequences,” the sheriff’s office said.
According to the sheriff’s office, “the amount of fentanyl being pushed into California communities is at epidemic levels and increasing in both lethality and availability.”
The synthetic opioid is commonly found in powder form or in counterfeit prescription pills. Two milligrams, an amount small enough to fit in the tip of a pencil, is considered a lethal dose for the average person, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
“The sheriff’s office continues to highlight this information to provide awareness to our community of the dangers of fentanyl and encourages conversations within the home to protect loved ones from deadly consequences,” the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact the sheriff’s office anonymous tip line at 408-808-4420.