After a warning about a dangerous drug circulating towns and cities in Yavapai County, the sheriff's office is highlighting several arrests of people in possession of the drug.
Fentanyl can be deadly. The drug is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and in some cases, users die because they don't know their pills are laced with fentanyl.
The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office announced several recent arrests involving the drug Saturday.
Prescott Valley, June 7
Rick Arellano and Lester Suter were arrested in connection with an overdose of an 18-year-old man in Prescott Valley.
The arrest was made on June 7.
More than 50 fentanyl-laced pills were recovered, according to YCSO.
Prescott Valley, October 4
Clayton Yost was arrested after a pursuit from Prescott Valley.
Yost's backpack had mushrooms, marijuana, Xanax, and cocaine, according to YCSO. There were also blue pills marked "M30," Oxycodone. The pills were confirmed to contain fentanyl, YCSO said.
Cornville, October 22
After a 9-year-old helped save her mother from an overdose, YCSO says it was confirmed that fentanyl was also found in the home.
Prescott, October 26
Two people, Spencer Pool, and Monique Aranicibia, were arrested on charges of possession of fentanyl after a traffic stop.
Pool had been bragging about selling fentanyl-laced pills, according to YCSO.
Chino Valley
Christopher Livernois was arrested on drug charges after he was stopped leaving a Prescott bar, YCSO says.
He was carrying a container with 55 blue pills marked "M30," but detectives later identified the pills as being laced with fentanyl, YCSO says.
Overdoses
On November 3, two 19-year-old men were found dead in a Prescott Valley home. Documents said their death was the result of a fentanyl overdose.
The men were graduates of Bradshaw Mountain High School and were involved with athletics, according to the Daily Courier.
There were 42 fatal overdoses in Yavapai County so far in 2018, compared to 49 in all of 2017, according to police.
Overdose incidents have spiked in Yavapai County, so much so that the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office issued a warning in early November.
"In recent weeks, area law enforcement agencies, working with detectives from PANT [Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking], have been investigating several cases involving pills/tablets containing fentanyl," the release said. "Remember, even a small dose of fentanyl can cause the user to overdose or die and such incidents have occurred in Yavapai County in recent months."
