At least 2 teens die in suspected fentanyl overdoses; arrest made

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    California (KPIX) — Santa Rosa authorities announced that at least two teens have died and two others were hospitalized following possible fentanyl overdoses over the weekend, with police making an arrest.

The investigation began Saturday around 8:15 p.m. when Santa Rosa police said they responded to a home along Brookwood Drive for reports of a possible overdose.

A guest let herself in after no one answered the door. Police said when she entered her friend’s bedroom, she found her friend, a 16-year-old girl, and an 18-year-old man unresponsive on the bed.

When officers and medical personnel arrived at the scene, they pronounced the two teenagers dead.

The 16-year-old was a student at Santa Rosa High School and the 18-year-old was a student at Montgomery High School, police said.

Detectives located evidence of drugs at the scene and information to identify a possible suspect.

This came after Santa Rosa detectives responded to a suspected fentanyl overdose call around 5:15 a.m. Saturday that hospitalized 14-year-old and 16-year-old girls, police said.

Police said it’s believed the victims in both cases had purchased what they thought was cocaine but “was most likely fentanyl.”

Detectives located the suspect in his vehicle at a parking lot on Santa Rosa Avenue around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Ramon Nunez of Santa Rosa, was detained, police said.

An approved search warrant for Nunez and his vehicle was served, leading to detectives saying they found drugs and other items that indicated the drugs were being sold, specifically small plastic bags that contained a distinctive black peace sign logo that is believed to be linked to the overdose deaths of the teens.

Police said detectives believe Nunez sold the drugs that caused the teens to die and are investigating if there is a connection between Nunez and the overdoses that left the teenagers hospitalized.

Nunez was booked into jail on second-degree homicide, furnishing narcotics to a minor, and furnishing narcotics to a minor four or more years younger, police said.

Also on Sunday, Santa Rosa City Schools released a message that referenced the death of four students. Police clarified that two students are the 16-year-old and 18-year-old in the Brookwood Drive case.

The third is a 19-year-old man and a former Santa Rosa City Schools student, police said. They said drugs are suspected in his death but it’s unlikely related to the other cases.

The fourth death appears to be of natural causes but police said all deaths are under investigation.

“Our hearts are broken by the loss of these young lives,” Dr. Daisy Morales, SRCS superintendent, said in the message. “As a community, we must unite to support one another and find strength in our shared grief. Let us hold our loved ones close and offer compassion to those who are hurting.”

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