The accused drug dealer is officially heading to trial for the first Fentanyl murder in Ventura County.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that Rodney Ray Yanez, 56, of Oxnard, has been taken into custody to answer the second murder of a gas station employee.
The decision came after a four-day preliminary hearing in which 16 witnesses were called, including firefighter paramedics and several law enforcement drug experts, officials said.
In addition to the murder charges, authorities said Yanez was also charged with nine felony and four misdemeanors related to his alleged drug possession and sales activities.
It was on September 20, 2023 that Yanez was allegedly selling fentanyl to Dylan Rush at an Oxnard gas station.
Rush, who was working at a gas station, overdose in the toilet.
Officers and paramedics later found Rush and declared he had died on the scene despite efforts to save his life.
The victim’s toxicological results showed that fatal levels of fentanyl were responsible for the death. The original DA Office report did not include whether Rusch knew what he was taking.
Oxnard Police Department officials arrested Yanez on July 24, 2024, and booked him at the Ventura County home prison. He is in custody on $1 million bail.
The DA’s office said Yanez was charged with a series of drug offences for being sold and transported for sale 14 months before Rush’s death.
“We believe the evidence in this case is persuasive and fully supports the judge’s findings,” said prosecutor Audrey Nafziger. “We are ready and eager to present this case to the ju judge at trial.”
Yanez will return to court on April 10th for an information arrest.
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