A 17-year-old died of a fentanyl overdose; Man arrested for trafficking fentanyl to victim in California

A man has been arrested by the Lake County Sheriff's Office in connection with the fentanyl-related death of a 17-year-old girl.

A Lake County man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a teenage girl died from an overdose that police say he administered fentanyl to.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office investigated the death of 17-year-old Illeanna Frease for months. The office said she died Nov. 10 from an overdose of fentanyl and alcohol. Joe Boggs Jr., a 27-year-old from Lucern, was ultimately named by investigators as the person they say gave fentanyl to Frease.

The sheriff's office said the case will be prosecuted as murder by the Lake County District Attorney's Office. Police arrested Boggs and booked him into the Lake County Jail on $1 million bail.

More than 10,000 people die each year in California from drug overdoses. Some police departments, including those in San Francisco, have said they are willing to charge fentanyl sellers with murder if their sales can be linked to an overdose death, according to SF Chronicle.

A child died of an overdose while his parents placed medication within reach; Arrested and charged in Florida

In 2022, the Santa Clara County prosecutor charged a 16-year-old with murder after a 12-year-old died from an overdose. In April, two South Bay people were charged with murder after allegedly giving drugs to the parents of an 18-month-old child who died of an overdose.

The sheriff's office said Boggs was the first person in Lake County to be arrested on suspicion of a fentanyl murder.

Infant twins found dead; Woman arrested after autopsy reveals drug overdose in West Virginia