Tuolumne Sheriff Raises Alarm About Fentanyl Related Overdose Deaths

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Sonora, CA — Tuolumne County Sheriff David Vasquez says there have been 15 drug-related overdose deaths in just the past six months, with fentanyl being a common thread.

Vasquez, who was appointed sheriff in March, provided an update to the board of supervisors this morning about the operations of the office. He highlighted some recent positives, including being in the process of filling a final open dispatch position, the recent positive work of patrol officers, and the strong coordination with CAL Fire, and others, this fire season.

However, drug use, notably fentanyl, is a top concern.

Vasquez said, “Drugs are by far, crushing our community right now.”

He went on to say, “In six months, we have had 15 deaths related to overdose, specifically from fentanyl and other combinations of drugs. Nine of them have been confirmed by the death certificates, and the other six, we are awaiting confirmation, but based on the situation that existed when the deputies responded, there was enough to reasonably infer that there was more than one drug on board, specifically fentanyl.”

There have been recent heroic efforts to save people who have overdosed on fentanyl, noting that in just one day, there were two overdose calls within a couple of hours, in different parts of the county.

Both people were saved by emergency responders.

Vasquez stressed, “It is extremely eye-opening to see how much this drug is crushing the hearts and souls of families in this community.”

The rise in drug crimes also correlates to a rise in endangered children’s cases.

Vasquez said, “They go hand in hand and you can’t escape one without the other. I’m not saying that every person who uses drugs is a bad parent, but I am saying that the correlation of the data shows that often times the more narcotics enforcement cases that you pull regarding addiction or illicit drug crimes, the more often you are going to see drug endangered children cases rise.”

He said that cracking down on illegal drugs, notably fentanyl, “is an absolute priority to me, and it is a priority to our community, which is why we have formulated the Tuolumne Narcotics Team to full-time, 100% focus on narcotics enforcement in this community.”

Vasquez added that it is important for drug dealers to know that they will be “relentlessly pursued with the highest level of stamina and endurance.”

He concluded, “We will not throw our hands up, and say that it is (state) legislation, or that sentencing is not harsh enough. We will make it as uncomfortable as we possibly can to sell drugs in this community, and to keep it out of our schools and our families.”