Ventura County man charged with murder in fentanyl overdose death

An Oxnard man has been charged with murder following the fatal overdose of a gas station worker to whom he allegedly sold fentanyl, authorities said Thursday.

This marks the first time the Ventura County district attorney's office has filed murder charges against someone who sold fentanyl to another person.

"The filing of murder charges in a fentanyl overdose case underscores the grave responsibility we have to protect our community from the devastating impact of this deadly drug,” Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko said in a statement. “We are committed to seeking justice for victims and holding accountable those who provide this poison."

Rodney Rey Yanez , 55, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Dylan Rusch, according to the district attorney's office. He faces nine felony charges in all, as well as four drug-related misdemeanors.

On Sept. 23, 2023, authorities allege that Yanez sold fentanyl to Rusch at the Oxnard gas station where Rusch worked. Rusch overdosed in the bathroom and died at the scene despite resuscitative efforts by police officers and other first responders.

There was a lethal dose of fentanyl in Rusch's system, which caused his death, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office.

Yanez was arrested by the Oxnard Police Department on July 24 and charged with selling and transporting fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs in the 14 months before Rusch died.

He appeared in court for the first time Thursday and is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 21 in Ventura County Superior Court, according to the district attorney's office. He is being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

Last year, a Temecula man who gave a fentanyl-laced pill to a 26-year-old woman was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in connection with the woman's death.

The conviction of Vicente David Romero marked California's first jury conviction of a fentanyl-related homicide, according to Riverside County prosecutors.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .