From 2020 to 2024, 75% of overdose deaths among young people ages 10 to 19 involved fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fentanyl can be found in counterfeit pills and other substances, often without the person taking them knowing it is there. Behind these numbers are families whose lives have been forever changed. This year, ...

Jaime Puerta’s life was forever changed when his 16-year-old son died after taking a fentanyl-laced pill he bought on Snapchat. Now, the Santa Clarita father continues to fight to protect other families from the pain his family experiences every day. Puerta, a Marine Corps veteran and small business owner in California, lost his 16-year-old son, Daniel, after he ingested an ...

The identity of a man who was found dead following a brush fire in July was released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office Wednesday. On Tuesday, July 22, firefighters responded to a half-acre brush fire on Soledad Canyon Road near Penlon Way in Canyon Country.   After the flames were extinguished, firefighters found a body that had been ...

Deputies recovered approximately 3,000 lethal doses of fentanyl, amongst other drugs, earlier this week during a welfare check in Canyon Country.  Earlier this week, a concerned resident notified deputies of a man who was slumped over in a parked vehicle on Evron Avenue in Canyon Country, according to officials with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “When our deputy arrived, ...

Nitazenes, a class of synthetic opioids, are fueling a growing crisis and posing a serious and hidden threat to public health. Nitazenes, a potent class of synthetic opioids first developed in the 1950s, was never approved for medical use due to their narrow safety margin, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Nitazenes have resurfaced in illicit drug markets worldwide, ...

Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris is facing backlash after making a controversial statement suggesting he wants to eliminate the city’s homeless population by “giving them all the fentanyl they want.” He later doubled down on the remark, expressing support for a federal “purge” of homeless individuals. When questioned by a constituent during a city council meeting on Feb. 25 on what ...

A Palmdale man already facing one charge of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death has been charged by federal grand jury indictment with an additional count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death related to the death of a Palmdale man in August, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Christopher Morales, 22, was named in a superseding indictment returned Wednesday by ...

Congressman Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, last week voted in favor of the FY2025 Defense Appropriations Act, which passed the House. This bill strengthens our military, better ensures our national security, and includes Rep. Garcia’s proposal to give U.S. junior enlisted troops the highest pay raise in history. This critical bill also includes funding for several programs that will create jobs ...

A father, fueled by the loss of his son, has dedicated the past four years to educating and fighting the spread of the deadly drug killing Americans by the hundreds as well as fighting the stigma that this crisis is exclusive to drug addicts.  On the morning of April 1, 2020, Jaime Puerta walked into the room of Daniel Puerta, ...

A Tarzana man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison  Monday related to distributing fentanyl-laced fake Percocet pills that resulted in the deaths of two Santa Clarita teens. Dominick Alvarado was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and was also ordered to pay restitution of $41,271, the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed to City News Service. Alvarado was arrested ...