A May 27 trial date was confirmed Tuesday for a felon accused of selling a deadly dose of fentanyl to a 27-year-old Moreno Valley man.
Savanna Michelle Carlos, 23, of Moreno Valley, is accused of causing the death of Jesse Jimenez in 2023.
Carlos is charged with second-degree murder, possession of controlled substances for sale and transportation of controlled substances for sale, as well as a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation.
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Tuesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides signaled they would be prepared for trial proceedings at the end of May.
Carlos is being held in lieu of $1 million at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Liebrand, on Feb. 2, 2023, patrol deputies were sent to a residence in the 21600 block of Winding Road, near Yolo Street, to investigate reports of a man down.
Liebrand said the deputies discovered Jimenez unconscious and unresponsive, at which point they attempted life-saving measures until paramedics arrived and continued to try to resuscitate him, but couldn’t. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The coroner’s bureau determined Jimenez died as a result of fentanyl poisoning,” the sergeant said. “Investigators worked to identify the suspect responsible for selling the fentanyl that killed him. As a result of their efforts, the suspect was identified as Carlos.”
He said detectives formally took the defendant into custody after she completed serving a term of incarceration at the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in Devore for unspecified offenses in San Bernardino County.
The circumstances regarding how Carlos met Jimenez and allegedly supplied him with the drugs were not disclosed.
Court records show she has a prior conviction in Riverside County for forgery
Since February 2021, prosecutors have charged over 30 people in connection with fentanyl poisonings. Two prosecutions have resulted in murder convictions.
Public health statistics indicated there were 328 known fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2024, compared to 571 in 2023, a 42% decline. Numbers for 2025 haven’t been finalized.
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 recipient knowing what he or she is consuming. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.