ROSEVILLE, Calif. — A 21-year-old man is the first person in the state of California to be convicted of murder in a fentanyl death, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office.
The conviction is connected to a June 2022 case in Roseville that left a 15-year-old girl dead.
The district attorney’s office says 21-year-old Nathaniel Cabacungan was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges.
“At the end of the day, we are still marking the murder of a 15-year-old girl. But all of this is in hopes of saving lives," said Morgan Gire, Placer County District Attorney.
Laura and Chris Didier were in court Friday with the 15-year-old’s family. The fentanyl crisis brought the two families together as the Didier’s lost their son Zach in 2020 to fentanyl poisoning. The person convicted of killing their son received 17 years in person.
"The victim's mom has expressed her gratitude that Placer County has brought justice for her daughter and sees this as steps in the right direction," said Laura. "In our country, currently, we're seeing about 200 fentanyl-related deaths every single day, or a fentanyl-involved tragedy every seven minutes."
A criminal complaint against him says he possessed and transported fentanyl pressed into pills that looked like Percocets. It also says he met with the girl for the purpose of engaging in lewd behavior, gave her a controlled substance and ultimately caused her death.
The district attorney’s office says it’s the first conviction of its kind in California.
“Our community, like so many others, has been tragically affected by this fentanyl crisis. We are committed to combating this crisis on all fronts — continued education and outreach efforts, extensive prevention campaigns, and in those deserving cases, aggressive prosecution of dealers who knowingly sell deadly fentanyl with no regard for the lives of others,” said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire.
Cabacungan is set to be sentenced on Aug. 16 in Roseville.
