Jurupa Valley couple charged in toddler’s fentanyl-related overdose death

JURUPA VALLEY, Calif., — Authorities say a fourteen-month investigation into the fentanyl overdose-related death of a Jurupa Valley toddler has resulted in murder and other felony charges being filed against the child’s parents.

During their investigation, officials determined the couple’s then-four-month-old child also tested positive for drugs, including Cannabinoids and Carboxy-THC; and officials have said the couple may have been purposefully providing cannabis and fentanyl to their young children.

The couple, 22-year-old, Adler Allen Metcalf and 20-year-old, Sandy Alyssa Acuna, remain in custody and are expected to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall Of Justice in Riverside on Monday.

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Riverside County Sheriff’s officials began a suspicious death investigation around 4:20 a.m. Tuesday morning, Sept. 1, 2020, after deputies from the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to a frantic call reporting a juvenile who was not breathing, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ryan Marcuse recently said of the more than year-long investigation and subsequent arrests.

Responding to a mobile home in the 5400 block of 34th Street, deputies found the lifeless body of a toddler and immediately began life-saving efforts, including CPR. Deputies continued their efforts to revive the child at the scene until paramedics arrived and took over.

Despite all efforts, the toddler was ultimately declared deceased.

Jurupa Valley parents Adler Metcalf and Sandy Acuna were arrested on Wednesday, following a more than year-long investigation into the fentanyl overdose-related death of their 15-month-old son. The couple’s other child, who was just four months old at the time, also tested positive for recent drug consumption; leading investigators to say they believe the pair was purposefully providing their children with the drugs. RSO booking photos

Neighbor Juan Melendez, who heard the mother’s desperate screams for help and later witnessed the unsuccessful attempts at reviving the toddler, told MSN News, “It’s terrible. I mean I heard them that night. They were screaming and I came out and there was this (sheriff’s deputy) pumping on this baby’s chest.”

“Whoever had (the narcotics) there was careless,” Melendez continued; adding sadly, “To have it close enough for a 15-month-old baby to have access to grab it is irresponsible.”

Based on the circumstances surrounding the boy’s tragic death, investigators from the Jurupa Valley Station and the Sheriff’s Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit assumed the investigation.

According to an arrest warrant related to the Sheriff’s lengthy and thorough investigation, Acuna originally told emergency dispatchers that she believed her son crawled out of his crib and onto a counter where he swallowed a white pain pill while she was sleeping. 

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However, while later being interviewed by investigators she changed her story, saying that she discovered the pill was missing and went to check on the baby.

As their investigation continued over the next several months, a search warrant to search Acuna’s cell phone led officials to discovering text messages that showed several photos of blue “M-30” pills, which are consistent with counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl.

“The investigation was worked tirelessly over the next several months and it was determined the juvenile’s parents … were responsible for possessing the Fentanyl that killed their child,” said Marcuse; who added that investigators ultimately determined the young child was a victim of homicide due to his fentanyl overdose.

Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine and is often mixed with other drugs and is a primary factor behind the ongoing and worsening opioid crisis, officials have explained. In comparison to other dangerous narcotics, just two milligrams of powdered fentanyl can be considered a lethal dose for some people. RSO photo

Estimating that as many as half of the fentanyl-related deaths that have occurred in Riverside County happened to people who did not know the risk of the drugs they were taking, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has said that statistics show that many fentanyl overdose victims are children and is a growing epidemic that people need to take more seriously.

“It is tragic,” Bianco said of the toddler’s death.

“It’s a tragic situation … where the parents were involved with drugs, and allegations of possibly selling drugs and their kids are paying the price,” the Sheriff continued.

“When you use the word ‘overdose,’ our brain is programmed to believe that they did it to themselves,” he said. “That they’re a drug dealer, they took too much, and they knew the risks, but the problem with fentanyl is that it’s so potent.”

“The dose of fentanyl could be like the size of a tiny grain of salt,” Bianco explained; adding, “If two happen to get in that one pill, you’re dead, and there’s no bringing you back.”

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin weighed in on the subject and recent arrests and announced he would continue seeking murder charges against any and all drug dealers if someone they provide the powerful and deadly narcotic to dies from an overdose.

“In Riverside County, in 2016, there were two fentanyl deaths,” Hestrin explained. “This year, we’re on pace to have between 500 and 600 fentanyl-related deaths.”

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Based on their investigation and findings, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, officials arrested both Metcalf and Acuna at their 34th Street mobile home.

Both were later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of murder, child abuse resulting in death, multiple counts of willful child endangerment, and other charges.

Online jail records indicate both remain in custody, with Metcalf being held without bail and Acuna being held in lieu of $1 million bail or bond.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Master Investigator Merrill at the Jurupa Valley Station at (951) 955-2600 or Master Investigator Peters at the Overdose Death Investigation and Narcotics Unit at (951) 955-1700. Callers can refer to incident file number JV202450010 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.