Temecula man gets 15 years to life in prison in Riverside County’s 1st fentanyl-related murder case

TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) — In a first-of-its-kind California case, a Temecula man convicted of second-degree murder has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the fentanyl-related death of a 26-year-old woman.

In early September, 34-year-old Vicente David Romero was found guilty in connection with the death of Kelsey King. Prosecutors said Romero knowingly supplied King with fentanyl in June 2020.

She died after ingesting half a pill while she was with him, they said.

At the time of the guilty verdict, it was the first of 23 active homicide cases in Riverside County related to fentanyl poisonings to go to trial. It was considered a landmark case in the state in which a person who knowingly supplied fentanyl was convicted of murder.

During the five-day trial, the prosecution called 10 witnesses to testify and showed body camera footage in which Romero said he gave and split a pill known as a “blue” (also known as M30) with King, which he knew to contain fentanyl.

In an open plea to the court prior to the trial, Romero admitted to five additional charges, including possession of drugs while armed, being a convicted felon and drug addict in possession of a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.